sempa

very little, few; a small amount, a small quantity

An adjectival form of ᴹQ. sem(p)- “few” appearing in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/105). Tolkien said it was “chiefly used with genitive”, as in sempa maltō “a small quantity of gold”; likely this refers specifically to its use in the singular form. As an adjective it usually uses a plural: sempar ondoli “some few stones” (PE23/106). Note that in the 1940s, adjective plurals often us -r; in Tolkien’s later system this would probably be ✱sempe ondoli. The adjective may be used with a singular noun, but this is more emphatic: sempa ondo “a (very) few stones” (PE23/106).

sempa maltō

a small quantity of gold

sempar ondoli

some few stones

sempa malta

(very) little gold

sempa ondo

(a very) few stones