14.26 End (n, temporal)
- Q. metta n. “ending, end”
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A noun for “ending” or “end” (PE17/103, 105; PE23/98, 110), most notable for its use in the phrase sinomë maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn’ Ambar-metta “In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world” (LotR/967). In one place Tolkien used it as a verb, in the phrase sínen i·anda nyarnë metta ar taina andaurenya na quanta “*with this the long tale ends and my extended long day is complete” (Minor-Doc/1955-CT). It could also be used verbally in the title of the final section of a late version of the poem The Trees of Kortirion: Mettanyë, which might mean “*I end” (LT1/43). It is clearly based on the root √MET “end”.
- Q. telma n. “conclusion, anything used to finish off a work or affair; [ᴹQ.] ending”
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A noun for “a conclusion, anything used to finish off a work or affair” appearing in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 as a derivative of √TELE “close, end, come at the end” (WJ/411 note #15).
Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s had unglossed ᴹQ. tyelma derived from the root ᴹ√KYEL “come to an end” (Ety/KYEL; EtyAC/KYEL). This word appeared as tyelma “ending” in the poem Fíriel’s Song, also from the 1930s (LR/72).
The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. telū̆me or telumen “finish, conclusion” under the early root ᴱ√TEL+U (QL/91), given as telūme “the great end” in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/91). In a list of names also from the 1910s, it appeared as an element in ᴱQ. Irmina Telume “End of the World” (PE13/104).
14.27 to Finish
- Q. finta- v. “to make, finish off, decorate a thing with delicate work; to show skill”
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A verb glossed “to make, finish off, or decorate a thing with delicate work” based on the root √PHIN also seen in the name Finwë (PE17/17). It had a weak past form fintane. In another place finta- was glossed “show skill” (PE17/119). As such, I would assume it means “make/finish/enhance skillfully”.
- ᴹQ. metya- v. “to put an end to”
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A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “put an end to” under the root ᴹ√MET “end” (Ety/MET).
- Q. tel- v. “to end, finish (intr.), [ᴹQ.] cease”
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An intransitive verb glossed “finish, end” in the Quendi and Eldar essay (Q&E) from 1959-60 based on the root √TELE “close, end, come at the end” (WJ/411). Its more precise meaning was “be the last thing or person in a series or sequence of events”. As such, the subject of this verb would be the thing being finished rather than the thing doing the finishing, so i síre tele earessë “the river finishes/ends in the sea” or Valanya tele enquie “Friday ends [the] week” but not i elda telle “the elf finished [what he/she was doing]”. Intransitive tel- was contrasted with transitive telya- “finish, wind up, conclude”, so i elda telyane “the elf finished [something]”.
Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. telu- “to finish, end, close, complete” based on the early root ᴱ√TEL+U of the same meaning (QL/91). In Early Qenya word-lists of the 1920s, the meaning of telu- changed to “cover, roof” (PE16/134), and the verb for “end” became ᴱQ. tal-, with past tense talle “ended” (PE16/143). The Etymologies of the 1930s had ᴹQ. tyel- “to end, cease” under the root ᴹ√KYEL of similar meaning (Ety/KYEL; EtyAC/KYEL). The transitivity of the earlier versions of this word is not always clear.
- Q. telya- v. “to finish, wind up, conclude (trans.)”
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A transitive verb glossed “finish, wind up, conclude” in the Quendi and Eldar essay (Q&E) from 1959-60, based on the root √TELE “close, end, come at the end” and contrasted with intransitive tel- “finish, end” (WJ/411). See the entry for tel- for further discussion.
- G. carn adj. “done, finished”
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An adjective appearing as G. carn “done, finished” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s related to the verb G. cartha- “make, finish” (GL/25), both based on the early root ᴱ√KARA “do, make” (QL/45).
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would update this word to ᴺS. carnen “done, made, finished” as the passive participle of car- “do, make”.
- ᴱN. crann- v. “to finish, complete, accomplish, [G.] achieve”
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The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. cranta- “finish, achieve, accomplish” based on the early root ᴱ√car- (GL/26). In Gnomish Lexicon Slips modifying that document it became crantha- “complete” (PE13/111). The Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s had ᴱN. crann- [inf. crenni] with the gloss “to finish, complete, accomplish” based on ᴱN. cara- “to make, do, perform, act” (PE13/161).
Neo-Sindarin: Since √KAR “do, make” survives in Tolkien’s later writings, I’d retain ᴺS. cranna- “to finish, complete, accomplish, achieve” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin.
- ᴱN. cranthir adj. “perfect, [G.] complete”
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The adjective G. {carmathol >> carmathon >>} carthion “complete, perfect” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s based on G. cartha- “make, finish” (GL/25). The Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s had ᴱN. cranthir “perfect” based on ᴱN. crann- “to finish, complete, accomplish” (PE13/161)
Neo-Sindarin: Since I update the verb to ᴺS. cranna- “accomplish, finish, complete, achieve”, I would update this adjective to ᴺS. crannen “perfect, complete”.
- G. telu- v. “to close, end, finish”
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The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s has G. telu- “close, end, finish” based on the early root ᴱ√tel “cover in, close, finish” (GL/70).
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would update this to ᴺS. tel- “to end, finish”, cognate to tel- of the same meaning.