13.15 Much, Many (Quenya)
- ⚠️ᴹQ. hrim- pref. “a great number, host, (very) many”
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A Quenya prefix for “a great number, host, very many” appearing in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/100). In this document it was initially derived from the root ᴹ√SRĬMĬ which was revised to ᴹ√RĬMĬ (PE23/100 note #34), but this change was not reflected in other words from this document.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume the prefix for “(very) many” is ᴺQ. rim-, since that is more consistent with derivations of the root both before and after 1948.
- ᴹQ. kin- pref. “a certain amount of (any amount larger than the (very) small)”
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The prefix for “a certain amount of” in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/100), used for quantities rather than countable amounts.
- ᴹQ. kina adj. and pron. “a certain quantity, some, a certain amount, a little (when little is precise and not partitive)”
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An adjective for “some” in the sense “a certain quantity, a certain amount” in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/104). This adjective is used when the thing described is not discrete or countable, as in á anta ni cina nén “give me some water”. It is also used when asking for a portion of a whole thing: á anta ni cina masta “give me some bread”. It can used with a partitive genitive as well: cina malta “some gold” vs. cina malto “some amount of gold”.
- ᴹQ. lak- pref. “a large amount of (any amount less than the whole)”
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A prefix for “a large amount” in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/100), used for quantities rather than countable amounts.
- ᴹQ. laka adj. and pron. “much (abundant), a great quantity”
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An adjective for “much” in the sense “much (abundant), a great quantity” in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/104). This adjective is used with a quantity rather than a countable set of things, as in i atan harya laca malta “the man has much gold”. It can used with a partitive genitive as well, in the singular or the plural as with laca malto “a great quantity of gold” or lacar malto “great quantities of gold”. Note that lacar in this example uses a noun plural rather than an adjective plural, because in this context it is being used substantively.
Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had the following words for “much”: ᴱQ. olda or olwa, olt, and olde which were respective adjective, noun and adverb, with olde also meaning “very” (QL/69). All were based on the early root ᴱ√OLO². A similar set of words for “much” appeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, adjective olya and adverb ole (PE14/48, 80), the latter also used as an augmentative with a longer form olōle (PE14/81). The forms ole and oléle were glossed “very” in the English-Qenya Dictionary also from the 1920s.
- ᴹQ. lauta- v. “to abound”
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A verb in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 based on the root ᴹ√LAW of similar meaning (PE22/103). Tolkien said this verb is used impersonally, and gave as an example: malta launen “gold abounded to me” = “I had lots of gold”. In Tolkien’s later system of pronominal suffixes this would probably be malta laune nin.
- ᴹQ. -lka suf. “*amount, quantity”
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A suffix for “amount” in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/108), clearly related to the prefix lak- also having to do with amounts. Tolkien added a sentence saying “To express quantity these forms are often fol[lowed] by partitive [genitive]” (PE23/108 note #102), for example: *umalca masto “some [indefinite] amount of bread”.
- ᴹQ. lia adj. “(not) a few, several”
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An adjectival form of li(n)-, translated “(not) a few, several” and appearing in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/106). Tolkien said “this is rare, since this notion is expressed by the ‘long plural’ in –li: Eldali, Elves, some Elves, several Elves”. In drafts Tolkien said it could also mean “lines (straight or string)” (PE23/106 note #80), probably an allusion to ᴹQ. lia² “fine thread, spider filament” from The Etymologies (Ety/SLIG).
Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. lia(r) “many” based on the early root ᴱ√LĪ (QL/53).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use the adjective lia for an indefinite but moderately sized number = “several”, but not a large number for which I use rimba “*many” or a very small one for which I use sempa “few”. As noted above, it can usually be replaced by the partitive plural suffix -li.
- Q. li(n)- pref. “many”
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A Quenya prefix for “many” appearing regularly in Tolkien’s writings throughout his life, dating all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s. It was derived from the root √LI that was also the basis for the partitive plural suffix Q. -li. In Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948, Tolkien specified that li(n)- referred to an indefinite quantity bigger than a few: “a number, a good many, not a few” (PE23/101 note #36).
Indefinite, expressing “mere plurality” (more than two at least); “some” with the plural, “(not) a few,” “several.” This is expressed by the stems lī̆-, and lĭn(i). In C. Eldarin the stem meant “many,” often a great number, but in Quenya except in a few older derivatives, especially the prefix lin-, lilin-, it is used always as expressing a lesser or vaguer number than the next (PE23/100).
This was then contrasted with ᴹQ. sem(p)- “few” and ᴹQ. hrim- “a great number, very many” [>> rim-].
- ᴹQ. lini pron. “(pl.) a good few, several”
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A pronominal form of li(n)- appearing as {lĭne >>} lĭni “a good few, several” in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/103). It was apparently always plural, and it also seems lini could apply to both people and things, as opposed to lie = “people”.
- ᴹQ. rimba adj. “frequent, numerous, *(very) many, great in number or quantity”
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An adjective in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “frequent, numerous” derived from ᴹ✶rimbā under the root ᴹ√RIM (Ety/RIM). Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 had a similar word ᴹQ. hríma “very numerous (great in number or quantity)” (PE23/106). In drafts of DRC it was rhíma and was glossed “many” (PE23/106 note #80).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I prefer rimba “frequent, numerous” over hríma, since it better aligns with Tolkien’s later derivatives from the root √RIM. I would also use rimba for “*(very) many”, as opposed to ᴹQ. lia “several” for a moderate number and ᴹQ. sempa for “few”.
Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. limba “many” under the early root ᴱ√LĪ (QL/53). It also had ᴱQ. olli “many” under the early root ᴱ√OLO², a plural adjective (QL/69).
- Q. -úmë suf. “[large], of quantity”
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A suffix in a list of “large & small” roots from around 1968 glossed “[large], of quantity” appearing as an element in Q. liyúmë “host” and based on the root √UM (VT48/32).