14.99 Time (other)
- ⚠️Q. en(a) adv. “still”
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A word appearing as en, ena in etymological notes from 1959-60 meaning “still”, as in quetir en “they still say” (PE17/167). In this note it was derived from √EN “go on doing”.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I prefer to use en “then soon” as a marker of the future to salvage words like [ᴹQ.] enar “tomorrow”. I would instead use either tensi “still = up to now” or tenta “still = up to then”, or perhaps the more distinctive enwa “yet”.
- Q. enwa adv. “yet”
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A word in the first version of the Löa Yucainen poem form 1958 in the phrase yallume Eldalie enwa marnie endoresse luminke “in times when the Eldalie dwelt yet a little while in Middle-earth” (CPT/1296-7). It is probably related to Q. en(a) “still”, also from the late 1950s, which was derived from √EN “again, go on doing” (PE17/167).
- ᴹQ. oia- v. “to live, pass one’s days”
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A verb used for “live” in the sense “pass one’s days” appearing in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) of 1948 based on the root ᴹ√OY of the same meaning (PE22/125). Tolkien said oia- was a defective verb without an aorist, and so naturally had a continuous sense: i Elda oia Valinóresse = “the Elves live [are living] in Valinor”. Its weak past tense oiane is also functionally a past imperfect: i Elda oiane Valinóresse “the Elves were living in Valinor”. Its strong past oine is functionally a perfect: i Elda oine Valinóresse “the Elves had lived in Valinor” meaning that life had ceased, and thus implying that in the current time the subject is no longer alive, e.g. the Elves lived and then died in Valinor.
- Q. quiquië adv. “whenever”
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A word for “whenever” appearing as either quiquie or quie in notes from 1968, as in quiquië menin coaryanna, arsë “whenever I go to his house, he is out” (VT49/23). Patrick Wynne suggest it is probably an adverbial form of qui “if” (VT49/35, note #29).
Conceptual Development: Various notes from 1948 had ᴹQ. íqa and íqallume “when, whenever” as elaborations of the relative pronoun ᴹQ. i, the latter with the addition of ᴹQ. -llume “time” (PE22/121; PE23/97). The qa is likely ᴹQ. qá “always, ever”.
- Q. tenna prep. and conj. “until, up to, as far as, to the point, to reach; still [in reference to past = *until then]”
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The usual Quenya word for “until” or “unto”, most notably appearing in Elendil’s Oath 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). More precisely it means “up to, as far as, to the point”, and is an allative formation based on the root √TEN “direction, end in sense of point aimed at” (PE17/187; VT49/24). As such it means “until” in reference to the future, but in reference to the present or past it may mean “up until now/then” or “still”, as in yá tenn’ aldar lente landanóressë ólaner “when still [until then] trees grew free in a wide country” (CPT/1297-8). It can also be used spatially, as in sustanë Manwëo súlë ten[na] i indo Sindicollo “*the spirit of Manwe blew unto the heart of Thingol” (NM/239).
See also more specific tensi “until now/here” and tenta “until then [past]”.
Conceptual Development: The first version of Elendil’s Oath from Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s had kenn’ “unto”, but this was soon revised to ᴹQ. tenn’ (SD/56). The ᴹQ. Koivienéni sentence from the late 1930s had ᴹQ. mennai “until”: ᴹQ. mennai Orome tanna lende i erenekkoitanie “until Orome came thither that he might awake them” (VT27/7).
- Q. tensi adv. “already, still, up to now/here; yet [from present]”
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A word for “still” or “yet”, or more exactly “up to now, here” (PE22/157), clearly a combination of √TEN “end in sense of point aimed at” with √SI “here, now”. As examples, Tolkien gave the sentences “it is still here” and “is it here yet”, so it clearly means “still, yet” in reference to the present. It may be contrasted with tenta meaning “still, yet” in reference to the past, or tenna which means “still, until, unto” more generally with past/present/future implied by context.
Based on the gloss “up to here”, it seems tensi can be used spatially as well, meaning “until here or this point”.
- Q. tenta adv. “still, yet [past], *up until then”
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A word for “still” or “yet”, or more exactly “*up to then” (PE22/157), clearly a combination of √TEN “end in sense of point aimed at” with √TA “there, then [past]”. As examples, Tolkien gave the sentences “it was still waiting” and “has it come yet”, so it clearly means “still, yet” in reference to the past. It may be contrasted with tensi meaning “still, yet” in reference to the present, or tenna which means “still, until, unto” more generally with past/present/future implied by context.
It is possible tenta can be used spatially as well, meaning “*until there or that point”.
- Q. xiétë (xiéti-) adj. “passing, impermanent”
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A word for “passing, impermanent” in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) written in 1969 derived from √SKEY “pass” and demonstrating the use of the verbal adjective suffix -itë (PE22/155).
- S. eno adv. “*still”
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A word appearing in a couple of untranslated phrases in the so-called Túrin Wrapper from the early 1950s, most notably ar in Ellath epholar eno vi Eressai which Carl Hostester suggested may mean “*and the Elves (?remember) still in Eressëa” (VT50/5, 19). If this word means “still”, it is probably cognate to Q. en(a) “still” and Q. enwa “yet” both from the late 1950s. All these words are thus probably derived from √EN “again, go on doing”.