12.391 In, Inside
- Q. mi prep. “in, [ᴹQ.] within”
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The Quenya preposition for “in”, very well attested. It was derived from the root √MI of the same meaning (PE17/92; VT43/30; VT47/30). In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹQ. mi was glossed “in, within” under the root ᴹ√MI “inside” (Ety/MI).
Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, the preposition mi appeared (untranslated) in the phrase ᴱQ. Uole·mi·Kūme “Moon King” = “*Uole in the Moon” (QL/48). The main dictionary had the adverb ᴱQ. imi “in, inside” under the early root ᴱ√IMI² (QL/42). In one place in Tolkien’s later writings from the 1950s, the preposition mi “in” had the variant form imi as well (VT43/30).
- Q. mina prep. and adv. “into, [ᴹQ.] to the inside”
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An allative form of the preposition mi “in” and thus meaning “into”, appearing in notes associated with Quenya prayers of the 1950s (VT43/30).
Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s had ᴹQ. minna “to the inside, into” under the root ᴹ√MI “inside” (Ety/MI).
- ᴹQ. mir prep. and adv. “to the inside, into”
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An alternate word for “to the inside, into” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MI “inside”, as opposed to the normal allative ᴹQ. minna (Ety/MI). It is almost certainly a remnant of the primitive allative suffix ✶-da; compare Q. tar “thither [= to there]” from primitive ✶tad(a) (PE19/104; Ety/TA).
- ᴹQ. mitya adj. “interior”
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An adjective for “interior” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MI “inside” (Ety/MI).
- S. mi prep. “in”
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The Sindarin word for “in” (PE23/133; VT50/5), equivalent to Q. mi of the same meaning. This preposition frequently appears in its mutated form vi (PE22/165; VT44/21; VT50/5), since Sindarin prepositions are typically mutated when appearing anywhere other than the beginning of a phrase.
- N. ne- pref. “in”
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A prefix for “in” implied by the verb N. nestag- “insert” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/STAK). It was probably derived from primitive ᴹ✶ndē̆- “in, inside” based on the root ᴹ√NĒ̆, but this root and its derivatives were deleted (EtyAC/NĒ̆).
Neo-Sindarin: Despite the deletion of its root, I think it is worth retaining ne- “in” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin.