téra

adjective. straight, right, straight, right, *correct

The Etymologies of the 1930s has ᴹQ. téra “straight, right” as a cognate to N. {tîr >>} taer, derived from {ᴹ✶tēra >>} ᴹ✶teñrā based on {ᴹ√TEƷ >>} ᴹ√TEÑ “line, direction” (Ety/TEƷ, TEÑ). Versions of the Lament of Atalante from the 1930s had téra “straight” as in malle téra “straight road” (LR/47, 56), but the version from the 1940s had téna “straight” (SD/310).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. tea or taina “straight” under the early root ᴱ√TEHE “pull ?”, where the question mark was Tolkien’s (QL/90). Early Noldorin word-lists of the 1920s had ᴱQ. tína as a cognate to ᴱN. tain “straight”, both derived from ᴱ✶tegnā (PE13/153, 165).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use téra “straight” as the best known form. I would also use téra to mean “right” = “✱correct” (not the direction “right”). For example, in response to the correct answer of a question you might say ta téra (ná) “that (is) straight” = “that is right/correct”. Saying á hilya i téra tie “follow the straight path” may also imply “follow the right/correct path”, depending on context.