Select Elvish Words: 13.36 Two

13.36 Two

Q. atta num. card. “two”

This is the usual Quenya counting number for “two”, derived from √ATATA (VT42/27; VT48/19), which in turn is based on √AT “bi-, double, again (a second time)” (PE17/148, 166). It may be contrasted with yúyo “both” referring to both elements of a pair.

Conceptual Development: There was no word for “two” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s. In the Early Qenya Grammar (EQG) of the 1920s, ᴱQ. yúyo meant “two” and ᴱQ. {satta >>} satto meant “both” (PE14/49, 82). By the The Etymologies of the 1930s, these meanings were reversed with ᴹQ. atta “two” appearing under ᴹ√ATTA and ᴹQ. yúyo “both” appearing under ᴹ√YŪ (Ety/ATTA, YŪ).

Q. atwa conj. “either/or; ⚠️double”

This word appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the gloss “double” under the root ᴹ√AT(AT) “again, back” (Ety/AT(AT)). It also appeared with this gloss in notes on The Feanorian Alphabet from the 1930s and 40s (PE22/23, 52). However, in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948, Tolkien said it was used for “either … or” (PE23/107) as in atwa carne atwa luine “either red or blue”. It could also be used by itself to mean “or” as in á anta nin macil atwa ehte “give me a sword or a spear”. In DRC, atwa served as the basis for a variety of similar words such as matwa “which (of two)” or enatwa “the second (of two)”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would mostly use atwa in the sense “either … or”. For simple “or” I would prefer hya from the 1960s. For “double” I would use atatya, also from the 1960s.

Q. onóna adj. and n. “twin-born; one of a pair of twins”

The Quenya word for “twin” appearing in the Quendi and Eldar (Q&E) essay form 1959-60, usable as an adjective or a noun (WJ/367), a combination of o- “together” and nóna “born”.

Conceptual Development: The English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s had ᴱQ. yunga “twin” (PE15/78), clearly related to ᴱQ. yúyo “two” from this same period.

Q. yu- pref. “both, [ᴱQ.] twice”

A prefix for “both” derived from the root √YU of similar meaning (VT48/10; EtyAC/YŪ; PE23/101). It appeared as both yu- and yú-. The short-vowel form seems to be used when it precedes a consonant cluster (yunquë) or a heavy syllable (yucainen), while the long-vowel form is used before a light syllable (yúcale).

In the Early Qenya Grammar (EQG) of the 1920s, ᴱQ. yú was glossed “twice” (PE14/51, 84), because in that document ᴱQ. yúyo was “two” (PE14/50, 82) instead of “both” as it was later. I think as the prefix yu- might still be used for “twice” in Tolkien’s later writings based on words like yunquë “twelve” = “*twice six” or yucainen “twenty” = “*twice ten”.

ᴹQ. yúya adj. and pron. “both [pref.]”

An adjectival form of pronominal ᴹQ. yúyo “both” appearing in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/106), also used as a pronoun for abstracts meaning “both facts” (PE23/105).

Neo-Quenya: In Tolkien’s later writings, yúyo itself was used as an adjective, but I’d retain yúya as a prefixal form to preserve correlatives from DRC.

Q. yúyo adj. “both”

This is the Quenya word for “both” (VT49/10) derived from √YU of the same meaning (PE17/70). It is likely it can be used as either an adjective or a pronoun: antanes nin yúyo parma “he/she gave me both books” vs. antanes nin yúyo “he/she gave me both”. Yúyo may be contrasted with atta which is the counting word for “two”.

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. aqi “a brace, a couple of, both” as an indeclinable adjective under the early root ᴱ√ATA used for duals (QL/33). In the Early Qenya Grammar (EQG) of the 1920s, ᴱQ. {satta >>} satto meant “both” and ᴱQ. yúyo meant “two” (PE14/82). By the The Etymologies of the 1930s, these meanings were reversed with ᴹQ. atta “two” appearing under ᴹ√ATTA and ᴹQ. yúyo “both” appearing under ᴹ√YŪ (Ety/ATTA, YŪ).

S. gwanon n. “twin”

The Sindarin word for a “twin”, with a plural form gwenyn using the ordinary pluralization rules of Sindarin (PE23/140; PM/365). It is likely a combination of gwa- “together” and primitive *nonā “born” based on the root √NŌ; compare Q. onóna “twin-born” of similar derivation (WJ/367). It also had a specialized dual form gwanûr for a pair of twins (LotR/1054), derived instead from ✶wo-nōrē “together-birth”, functionally a singular noun in archaic speech but in modern speech treated as a variant plural applicable only to a pair of twins (PE23/140). Gwanûr is thus probably used more often than gwenyn.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. gadwi “twins”, a dual form of G. gad(a) “link” (GL/37), along with a longer variant G. hethgadwi or heth-gedwi that had heth “sibling” as a prefix (GL/49). The Quendi and Eldar (Q&E) essay from 1959-60 had another dual form gwanūn, probably based on *wo-nōnā, from which a singular gwanunig was derived.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would use gwanon as the singular, gwanûr as the dual, and gwenyn as the ordinary plural, since these forms appear in either The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1054) or in notes from 1969 (PE23/140; PM/365).

S. tâd num. card. “two”

The usual Sindarin word for “two” derived from ✶tata, a variant of √ATATA that was the basis for Q. atta “two” (PE17/14; VT42/27; Ety/TATA). It appears with both a short vowel as tad and a long vowel as tâd. I think the long-vowel form is the most correct one, but the short-vowel form is used for prefixes or when the word is not emphasized in a phrase.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. atha “two”, but this was deleted and revised to G. atha as the “pl. 3rd person pronoun” (GL/20) and no new word for “two” was given.

S. tad-dal adj. “two-legged, *biped”

A word for “two-legged” = “*biped” appearing only in its plural form tad-dail (WJ/388), a combination of tâd “two” and the lenited plural of tâl “foot”.

S. ui- pref. “twi-”

A prefix for “twi-” appearing in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√YŪ “two, both” as an element in N. uial “twilight” (Ety/YŪ). Tolkien’s continued use of S. uial “twilight” in his later writings indicates the ongoing validity of this prefix (LotR/1111.2805; PE17/153, 169).