Select Elvish Words 10.32 to Flow (Quenya)

10.32: to Flow

ᴱQ. keleta n. “trickle”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. keleta “a trickle” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√KELE “flow, run; ooze, trickle” (QL/46).

Neo-Quenya: Since √KEL “flow” survives in Tolkien’s later writings, I would retain ᴺQ. celeta “trickle” for purposes of Neo-Quenya. It would have to be derived from *kelētā to retain its middle vowel; compare Oromë < ✶Orǭmē.

Q. kelima adj. “fluent, *able to flow freely”

An adjective glossed “fluent” in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 (PE22/156), a combination of √KEL “flow” and the adjective suffix -ima. I suspect that this word means “*able to flow freely” rather than its common English connotation of able to speak a language well.

ᴹQ. kelu- v. “to (begin to) flow, spring forth (of water)”

A verb in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 given as the main example of a u-verb, with glosses like “flow”, “begin to flow” and “spring forth (of water)” and derived from the root √KEL “flow” (PE22/97, 110, 114). It seems that originally the u-extension to this verb was simply to make the form more distinct: “In addition many bases of simple √TAL form made verbs of a different sort, employing a fixed vocalic suffix (ū, or ā̆) after the base: as √KEL: kelu ‘flow, well up’ (PE22/98)”. But the u-verb extension often had an inceptive sense (indicating the beginning of things), so that the sense of celu- shifted: “But is also outside tense associated with the notion of ‘begin to do something now (completed later)’ so in u-verbs: kelu, begin to flow (PE22/97)”.

Tolkien discussed this at length in the section of QVS on u-verbs:

The sense-difference between these and normal verbs is not so clear, since an additional -u seems often to have been added as a mere formative: to increase the phonetic content of the stem, as liru- “sing (gaily)”; or to distinguish between bases of identical (or similar) form with different senses, as kelu- “spring forth (of water)”: √KEL, √KYEL, run away especially downwards or to an end, cf. kelya “(it) sends running down = it rains”.

But often as in case kelu- above this suffix marks the beginning (more or less sudden) of an action that may continue later, and was thus anciently and still in Quenya often conjoined with the prefix ete/et- “out”: so in the ancient ektelu- (< etkelu) “gush forth” (PE22/114).

As such, I think this verb primarily has the sense “flow forth or spring forth (of liquids)”, indicating either a sudden new flow or the beginning place of an ongoing flow, such as Anduinë celur i Mísi Orontillon “Anduin flows forth from the Grey Mountains”. For a more ordinary continuous “flow”, I think the verbs sirya- or [ᴹQ.] sir- would be used. I also think the related verb [ᴹQ.] ehtelu- < ᴹ✶ektelu- originally had the sense “*flow out of an entrance”, so generally from underground hence = “well or bubble up”; see that entry for discussion.

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. kelu- “flow” dates back all the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s where it appeared under the root ᴱ√KELE “flow, run; ooze, trickle” under the early root ᴱ√KELE or ᴱ√KELU “flow” (QL/46), but there is no indication that it had an inceptive sense in the 1910s or 20s.

Q. kelunde n. “welling forth”

A noun for “[the process of] welling forth” appearing in Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2) from the early 1950s, a combination of the verb ✶kelu- “to well up” and the verbal noun suffix ✶-ndĭ or -ndē (PE22/137).

ᴹQ. keluste n. “outflow”

A noun for “outflow” appearing in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 as a combination of the verb kelu- “flow” and the “general action suffix” -ste (PE22/110).

Neo-Quenya: In Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2), this suffix became -sta (PE22/137 and note #40), so I would adapt this noun as ᴺQ. celusta “outflow” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

Q. luimë n. “flood, floodwater; flood tide, high tide; ⚠️flooded land”

A noun glossed {“flood, floodwater, flooded land”} (VT48/23) >> “flood, flood tide, high tide, [?or any] tide” (VT48/30 note #3) or “flood, high tide” (VT48/24), based on the root √DUY and appearing in notes on Variation D/L in Common Eldarin from the late 1960s.

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s had ᴱQ. lūto “flood” based on the early root ᴱ√LUTU (QL/57; PME/57). The Etymologies of the 1930s had ᴹQ. ulunde “flood” under the root ᴹ√ULU “pour, flow” (Ety/ULU). See also oloirë “great flood” (VT42/10), also from the late 1960s.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I would interpret luime to mean to a state of elevated water from any source, either a river flood or a high tide. For a more disastrous “great flood” I would use oloirë. I would using ᴹQ. ulunde for a “flood” pouring from above such as heavy rain, hence also “*downpour”.

Q. luita- v. “welling forth”

A verb glossed [in a draft paragraph] “to flood, inundate, drench” (VT48/30 note #2) revised to just “flood” (VT48/23), based on the root √DUY and appearing in notes on Variation D/L in Common Eldarin from the late 1960s.

Neo-Quenya: I think the glosses from the rejected draft remain relevant, but I would use luita- only for “flood, drench”. For the more intensive “inundate” I would use oloiya-.

Q. nanwë n. “ebb, lowtide”

A noun for an ebb-tide, first given as lanwe “ebb-tide” < ✶danmi “retreat” (VT48/32), then as nanwe “ebb, lowtide” < ✶ndanmē (VT48/26), appearing in notes on Variation D/L in Common Eldarin from the late 1960s. It was contrasted with luimë “flood, high tide” (VT48/24). I would interpret nanwe to mean a state of lowered water from any source, either low tide or a reduced river flow, but mostly for low tide as that would be the more common source.

Q. oloirë n. “great flood”

A noun for “a great flood” appearing in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s, an intensified form that was one of the few surviving Quenya derivatives of the root √LOG “wet (and soft), soaked, swampy”. See luimë for other less intensive “flood” words.

Q. oloiya- n. “to inundate, flood”

A verb for “to inundate, flood” appearing in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s, an intensified form that was one of the few surviving Quenya derivatives of the root √LOG “wet (and soft), soaked, swampy”. See luita- for another less intensive “flood” verb.

ᴹQ. sir- v. “to flow”

A verb for “flow” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√SIR of the same meaning (Ety/SIR). It may have appeared later in its present-tense form síra in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 as part of the sentence [ᴹQ.] númen Endorello isse sí Vaia síra “westward of Middle-earth where now Ocean flows” (PE22/126). However, it is possible that síra was intended to be present of the verb [ᴹQ.] sirya- “flow” from elsewhere in QVS; see that entry for discussion.

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. siri- “flow” under the early root ᴱ√SIŘI [SIÐI] (QL/84). See also the later verb Q. sirya-.

ᴹQ. sirea adj. “flowing, liquid”

A word for “flowing, liquid” in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) of 1948, the general adjective form of [ᴹQ.] sirya- “flow” reduced from [sir]yea (PE22/111).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. sīrima “liquid, flowing” based on ᴱQ. siri- “flow” (QL/84), but in Tolkien’s later system of verbs sírima would likely be interpreted as “*able to flow”.

Q. sirya- v. “to flow [smoothly]”

This verb first appeared in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 as an example of ya-formative half-strong verb ᴹQ. siry(a)- “flow” (PE22/114), though its primitive form ᴹ✶siryă “flow smoothly” appeared a bit earlier in Quendian & Common Eldarin Verbal Structure (EVS1) from the late 1940s (PE22/98). This verb may have replaced the basic verb ᴹQ. sir- “flow” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/SIR), but see Conceptual Development below.

The verb sirya- continued to appear [albiet without translation] as an example of half-strong verb conjugations in Tolkien’s writings in the 1960s with a past form sirinye (PE17/77; PE22/164). In one place he conjugated it as a weak verb from primitive *siryā with weak past siryane (PE22/156), but this may have been a transient or experimental idea.

Conceptual Development: QVS from 1948 has a present-tense form síra as part of the sentence númen Endorello isse sí Vaia síra “westward of Middle-earth where now Ocean flows” (PE22/126). It is not entirely clear which verb it is the present tense for. It looks like the present tense of the basic verb ᴹQ. sir- “flow” from the 1930s, but could have been intended to be the present of the sirya- “flow” instead, since that is the verb for “flow” everywhere else in QVS.

Based on the discussion of half-strong verbs QVS, I would expected the present tense of sirya- to be the long imperfect *siryalya; compare the present imperfect taltalya “am slipping down” for half-strong talta- (PE22/115). Such long imperfects were used in QVS for the present tense of verbs with otherwise defective presents, the main example being a-verbs such as fara- “hunt” whose present was faralya “is hunting” (PE22/116). But Tolkien also said “some verbs make a strong present, so ōla-, is growing [from ola-]”. Thus síra might be an example of such a strong present for half-strong sirya.

Neo-Quenya: For purpose of Neo-Quenya, I would assume sirya- was the most common Quenya verb for “to flow”, conjugated as a ya-formative half-strong verb. I would further assume that, like in EVS1, sirya- has the implied meaning of “flow [smoothly]”. However, I would assume ᴹQ. sir- is a less commonly used verb for “flow”, especially applicable when flows are turbulent or not continuous, as in the “the Ocean is flowing [síra]” in the sentence given above. For example, Helge Fauskanger used sir- “flow” in his Neo-Quenya New Testament (NQNT).

ᴱQ. sóla n. “tide”

A word appearing as sōla “tide” in the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s, based on the early root ᴱ√SOLO (QL/85; PME/85).

Neo-Quenya: Since the root ᴹ√SOL continued to be associated with the surf in Tolkien’s later writings (Ety/SOL), I would retain ᴺQ. sóla as the general word for “tide”, as opposed to more specific luimë “high/flood tide” and nanwë “low/ebb tide”.