tengwa

letter

tengwa (pl. tengwar is attested) (1) noun "letter" Tengwa (ñ) is defined as "any one visible sign representing (theoretically) any one audible teñgwe" (phoneme) (VT39:17). In non-technical usage tengwa was equivalent to "consonant", since only the consonants were full signs (WJ:396, TEK). In the Etymologies, tengwa was apparently emended from tengwë (VT46:17).

tengwa

noun. (written) letter; sign, token, indicator, (written) letter; sign, token, indicator; [ᴹQ.] writing, grammar

tengwa

noun. sign

sign, indicator, letter

tengwa-

verb. to read written matter

tengwa- (2) vb. "to read written matter", called a "weak verb"; aorist [teng]wa "reads", present tense [teng]wëa "is reading", past tense [teng]wane "read", perfect e[teng]wië "has read", the latter without lengthening of the stem-vowel (not **eténgwië) because there is a consonant cluster following (VT49:55). Gerund or "verbal noun" tengwië, also attested with a pronominal suffix + genitive: tengwiesto "of your (dual) reading" (VT49:47, 48, 52, 54)

tengwa-

verb. to read written matter

tanwa

sign, token

tanwa noun "sign, token" (Tolkien marked this word with a query, but it is not clearly rejected). Also tanna (#1). (PE17:186)

parma

book

parma noun "book", also name of tengwa #2 (PAR, Appendix E). In early "Qenya", the gloss was "skin, bark, parchment, book, writings" (LT2:346); Tolkien later revisited the idea that parma basically is a noun "peel" and refers to bark or skin (as primitive writing materials, PE17:86): "peel, applied to bark or skin, hence "book", bark (literally skinning, peeling off), parchment, book; a book (or written document of some size")" (PE17:123). In the meantimeTolkien had associated the word with a root PAR meaning "compose, put together" (LR:380); the word loiparë "mistake in writing" (q.v.) may also suggest that the root PAR at one point was to mean "write", so that a parma was a "written thing". Instrumental form parmanen "with a book" or "by means of a book" (PE17:91, 180), parmastanna "on your book" (with the endings -sta dual "your", -nna allative) (VT49:47), parmahentië noun "book reading" (PE17:77). Other compounds: parmalambë noun "book-language" = Q[u]enya (PAR), #parma-resta noun "book-fair", attested with the endings -lya "thy" and the allative ending -nna (parma-restalyanna *"upon your book-fair") (VT49:38, 39). Parma as the name of the tengwa letter for P occurs compunded in parmatéma noun "p-series", labials, the second column of the Tengwar system (Appendix E).

sarat

letter

sarat (pl. sarati given) noun "letter", any individual significant mark, used of the letters of Rúmil after the invention of Fëanor's tengwar (WJ:396). Cf. sarmë.

narwë

sign, token

[narwë (and short nar, unless this is an incomplete form) noun "sign, token"] (VT45:37)

parma

noun. book

book, writing, composition

taina

sign

#taina (2) noun "sign", isolated from Tainacolli *"Sign-bearer" MR:385

tanna

sign, token

tanna (1) noun "sign, token" (MR:385, PE17:186), also tanwa (PE17:186)