An affection term used by Isildur when addressing his son Elendur, very likely a reduction of 1st sg. possessive ✱sén-nya “✱my child” from sén “child” (UT/274); hat-tip to Lokyt for suggesting this connection to me.
Quenya
senya
adjective. usual, usual, *common, typical
Changes
- senwa → senya “usual” ✧ VT49/22
Cognates
- ᴺS. sein “usual”
Element in
- ᴺQ. senyavë “usually”
- Q. úsië, an cé mo quernë cendelë númenna, ve senya “on the contrary, for if one turned the face westward, as was usual” ✧ VT49/22; VT49/22
Variations
- senya ✧ VT49/22
- senwa ✧ VT49/22
senya
noun. *my child
Elements
Word Gloss sén “child” Variations
- senya ✧ UT/274
senwa
usual
senwa, also senya, adj. "usual" (VT49:22, 35). Notice that *senya* may conceivably also function as a genitive pronoun "his, her", derived from sen as the dative form of se #1 (compare ninya, menya**).
ya
as
ya (2) or yan, prep. "as" (VT43:16, probably abandoned in favour of sívë)
sívë
as
sívë (1) prep. "as", apparently ve of similar meaning with the prefix sí- "this, here, now"; sívë therefore makes a comparison with something close, whereas tambë (q.v.) refers to something remote. Sívë...tambë "as...so" (VT43:17). Elided sív' in VT43:12, since the next word begins in the vowel e-.
ier
as
ier prep. "as" (VT43:16, probably rejected in favour of sívë, q.v.). In an abandoned version of the Quenya Lord's Prayer, Tolkien used ier...ter for "as...so" (VT43:17).
ve
as, like
ve (1) prep. "as, like" (Nam, RGEO:66, Markirya, MC:213, 214, VT27:20, 27, VT49:22); in Narqelion ve may mean either "in" or "as". Ve fírimor quetir *"as mortals say" (VT49:10), ve senwa (or senya) "as usual" (VT49:10). Followed by genitive, ve apparently expresses "after the manner of": ve quenderinwë coaron ("k") "after the manner of bodies of Elven-kind" (PE17:174). Tolkien variously derived Quenya ve from older wē, bē or vai(VT49:10, 32, PE17:189)
ye
as
[ye (3), also yé, prep. "as" (VT43:16, struck out; in the text in question Tolkien finally settled on sívë, q.v.)]
-vë
as, like
-vë, (3) apparently an ending used to derive adverbs from adjectives (see andavë under anda and oiavë under oia). May be related to the preposition ve "as, like".
@@@ the sense “common” suggested by Tamas Ferencz