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Select Elvish Words 9.992-9.993: Way, Manner, to Happen

9.992 Way, Manner

Q. lé¹ n. “way, method, manner”

A noun appearing in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s based on the root √LEÑ having to do with behavior (PE17/74). As an example of its use, Tolkien gave the sentence “that is not A’s way”.

Q. lenga- v. “to behave”

A weak verb appearing in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s based on the root √LEÑ having to do with behavior (PE17/74). Tolkien marked through the paragraph where the verb appeared in the process of rejecting the adverbial suffix -lë, but retained the related noun “way, method, manner” in the following paragraph.

Neo-Quenya: I’d retain ᴺQ. lenga- “to behave” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

Q. lengë n. “gesture, characteristic look, gesture or trait”

A noun appearing in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s based on the root √LEÑ having to do with behavior (PE17/74). Tolkien marked through the paragraph where the noun appeared in the process of rejecting the adverbial suffix -lë, but retained the related noun “way, method, manner” in the following paragraph.

Neo-Quenya: I’d retain ᴺQ. lengë “gesture, characteristic look, gesture or trait” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

9.993 to Happen

Q. tulma n. “event”

A noun for “event” in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 (PE22/124). It is apparently a combination of ᴹ√TUL “come” with the instrumental suffix ᴹ✶-mā, so perhaps originally meaning “*a thing that is come”.

G. lûtha- v. “to pass (of time); to come to pass, occur, *happen”

A verb appearing as G. lûtha- in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with two meanings: “pass, of time” and “come to pass, occur” (GL/55). It is clearly based on the early root ᴱ√LUHU having to do with time (QL/56).

Neo-Sindarin: The root ᴹ√LU survived in Tolkien’s later writings, so I would retain this verb. However, I would adapt it as ᴺS. lúda- “to pass (of time); to come to pass, occur, *happen”, since -tha was no longer a common verbal suffix in Tolkien’s later writings. I would further assume that it means “pass (of time)” when with a temporal subject: i dhû lúdant “the night passed”. When it has a non-temporal subject it means “come to pass, occur, *happen”: i vereth lúdant orvedui “the feast occurred/happened yesterday”.

G. tunc n. “chance, occurrence; ⚠️arrival; hit at shooting; luck”

A noun appearing as a G. tunc in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with various meanings: “chance; occurrence; arrival; hit at shooting; luck” (GL/71). It was related to the verb G. tug- “to hit, reach mark; to light on, chance on, find; to arrive; to chance, occur” and thus was based on the early root ᴱ√TUKU having to do with searching and finding (QL/95).

Neo-Sindarin: The meaning of the root changed to ᴹ√TUK “draw, bring” in Tolkien’s later writings (Ety/TUK). However, I think ᴺS. tunc “chance, occurrence” might be salvaged as a derivation of *tu-n-k-ē “a thing brought” (derived from the root via nasal infixion or metathesis), which at some point gained the sense “a thing brought (unexpectedly)” and hence becoming “chance, occurrence”, divorced from its later verb form [N.] tog- “to bring”.

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