13.32 One
- ᴱQ. ellume n. “once, one time”
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A word appearing as ᴱQ. ellume “*one time” in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, a combination of ᴱQ. er “one” and ᴱQ. -llume “times” (PE14/51, 84). This document had an alternate ᴱQ. eru “once” as an adverbial form of er, also used as a prefix (PE14/51, 84).
Neo-Quenya: Since both er “one” and ᴹQ. -llume “time” survive in Tolkien’s later writings, I would retain ᴺQ. ellumë “once, one time” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, but eru “once” clashes with the later name of God: Eru “the One”. Tamas Ferencz instead suggested ᴺQ. millumë “once” using min “one [for counting]”, but I prefer to stick with the attested form.
- Q. min n. “one, [ᴱQ.] one (in a series), the first”
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The Quenya word for “one” used when counting: min, atta, neldë, etc. This is contrasted with er “one, alone” for an isolated thing (VT48/6).
Conceptual Development: This use of min “one” appeared regularly in Tolkien’s writings, dating back to the Early Qenya Grammar (EQG) of the 1920s (PE14/49, 82, 84), but there were occasional variations. The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s instead had ᴱQ. mir “one” (QL/61), and The Etymologies of the 1930s had a variant form mine derived from the root ᴹ√MINI “stand alone, stick out” (Ety/MINI).
- Q. néya n. “once, at one time”
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A word for “once” = “at one time (in the past)”, an adjectival form of né “ago” (VT49/31). It has two variants néya and nea. Compare also [ᴱQ.] ellume “once” = “one time”: á care sa ellume “do it once [one time only]” vs. carnes sa néya “he/she did it once [in the past]”. Very likely néya more strongly implies “pastness” than “oneness” and does not literally mean “only one time”, which could instead be expressed: carnes sa ellume.
- S. er n. “one, alone”
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The Sindarin word for “one” used when discussing a single isolated thing (PE17/95; VT42/25; VT48/6), such as Erchamion “One-handed”. Contrast this with min “one” used when counting.
Conceptual Development: This word was very well established, with G. er “one” appearing all the way back in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s already associated with “lonely” words like G. ereg “alone” and G. erwed “unique” (GL/32).
- G. ert adv. “once, once only”
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A word in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s appearing as G. ert “once, once only” based on G. er “one” (GL/33).
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would update this word to ᴺS. erlu “once, one time” as a combination of er “one” and lû “time”, inspired by [ᴱQ.] ellume “once”.
- S. min n. “one, ⚠️[G.] single”
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The Sindarin word for “one” used when counting multiple things (PE17/95; VT42/25; VT48/6), such as minui “first”. Contrast this with er “one” for single isolated things.
Conceptual Development: This word was very well established, with G. min “one single” appearing all the way back in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/32). Similar forms ᴱN. mind, minn appeared in Early Noldorin word-lists of the 1920s, but without translation (PE13/150). N. min “one” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MINI “stand alone, stick out” (Ety/MINI). In one late note it appeared with a long î: mîn “1” (VT42/25).
- N. minei adj. “single, distinct, unique”
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A word appearing as N. minei in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed {“first” >> “single, distinct, only, unique” >>} “single, distinct, unique” derived from primitive ᴹ✶miniı̯a under the root ᴹ√MINI “stand alone, stick out” (Ety/MINI; EtyAC/MINI).
Neo-Sindarin: Many Neo-Sindarin writers adapt this word as ᴺS. minai “distinct, unique, single” as suggested in Hiswelókë’s Sindarin Dictionary (HSD), since ei becomes ai in final syllables in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s.
Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. erwed “unique” as an adjective form of G. er “one” (GL/33).