14.11 Time (period)
- ᴹQ. andalúme n. “for a long while”
-
A word meaning “for a long while” from the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 (PE22/125), a compound of anda “long” and lúme “time”.
- ᴹQ. lú n. “a time, occasion; ⚠️[ᴱQ.] 24 hours, day”
-
A word for “a time, occasion” in The Etymologies of the 1930s based on the root ᴹ√LU having to do with time (Ety/LU).
Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. lú “24hrs, day” under the early root ᴱ√LUHU (QL/56). In the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa this word was glossed “24hrs” (PME/56). In Tolkien’s later writings, a 24 hour day was ré which was measured from sunset to sunset (LotR/1107).
- Q. lúmë n. “time; period of time; hour”
-
This was the Quenya word for “time” for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s which had ᴱQ. lúme “time” under the early root ᴱ√LUHU (QL/56), and was glossed “time” in the Early Qenya Grammar (EQG) of the 1920s (PE14/51, 84). ᴹQ. lúme “time” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√LU (Ety/LU), and was glossed “time” in Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 (PE23/100, 108). In etymological notes from around 1959, Tolkien said lúme “time” was derived from √ULU “flow” (PE17/168).
One notable use for lúme was in the phrase elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo “a star shines on the hour of our meeting” (LotR/81). On this basic, it seems lúme can (like English) be used to refer to a period of time. Tolkien confirmed this in notes on the Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, where he said it was “lúme, time (a period of time however long, if limited)” (PE17/13). It is also used to refer to a time period in a phrase from QVS from 1948: [ᴹQ.] andalúme Eldar oianer Valinoresse “for a long while [long time] the Elves lived in Valinor” (PE22/125).
Tolkien used lúme in a similar way in Quenya Prayers from the 1950s: sí ar lúmessë ya firuvammë: násië “now and at the hour of our death: Amen” (VT43/28). Here, though, it seems to mean a moment in time. It also seems to refer to moments in time when used in the plural: nai laurë lantuva parmastanna lúmissen tengwiesto “may (a) golden light fall on your book at the times of your reading” (VT49/47).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume lúme can, like in English, refer to time in general, a moment in time, or a span of time, depending on context. Based on the gloss “hour” in The Lord of the Rings, lúme is also frequently used specifically to mean an hour (60 minutes) of time in Neo-Quenya. I would use lúme to mean “hour” mainly when quantified: lúmi nelde “three times = three hours”, lúme peresta “half a time” = “half an hour”. For “three times = thrice”, I would instead use words like [ᴱQ.] nellume or neldellume. See the entry on the suffix -llume for further discussion.
- ᴱQ. lúmia adj. “pertaining to time, temporal”
-
A word appearing as {lūmea >>} ᴱQ. lūmia “pertaining to time, temporal” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, an adjectival form of ᴱQ. lúme “time” (QL/56). The adjective suffix was revised to -ia when the stem form of the noun was revised from lúme- >> lūmi-.
Neo-Quenya: In Tolkien’s later writing, the stem of the noun again became lúme-, so I would update this adjective to ᴺQ. lúmëa “pertaining to time, temporal” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.
- ᴱQ. lúta- v. “to have time pass”
-
A verb appearing as ᴱQ. lúta- or lukta- “time passes” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√LUHU have to do with time (QL/56).
Neo-Quenya: Since ᴹ√LU remained the basis for “time” words in Tolkien’s later writings, I would retain ᴺQ. lúta- “to have time pass” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.
- N. lhû n. “time, occasion”
-
The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. lhû “a time, occasion” under the root ᴹ√LU that was the basis for time words (Ety/LU).
Conceptual Development: Early Noldorin word-lists of the 1920s has ᴱN. lhú but without translation (PE13/149). The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s has G. lu “occasion, time” as well as G. lûm “time” (GL/55), both likely based on the early root ᴱ√LUHU (GL/55).
Neo-Sindarin: Many Neo-Sindarin writers adapt this word as ᴺS. lû as suggested in Hiswelókë’s Sindarin Dictionary (HSD), since the unvoicing of initial l did not occur in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s. I would use the word lû for both “time” in the abstract and “a [moment in] time = occasion”.