12.54 to Measure Q. lár n. “league; †stop, pause” A Númenórean unit of measure that was translated as “league”, 5000 rangar in length or about 5277 yards, which is very close to an English league = 3 miles or 5280 yards (UT/279, 285). Its original meaning was “stop, pause” as
Select Elvish Words
Studies on selected elvish words to sort out their semantics.
Select Elvish Words: 12.53 to Grow
12.53 to Grow ᴹQ. alwa adj. “well-grown” An adjective for “well-grown” appearing in notes on The Feanorian Alphabet from the 1930s (PE22/23). The word alwa also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√GAL(AS), but was struck through (EtyAC/GAL(AS)). The rejected form in The Etymologies it was
Select Elvish Words: 12.51 Form, Shape
12.51 Form, Shape Q. canta n. “shape, framework, [ᴹQ.] frame; shaped” A word for “shape, frame(work)” mentioned in both the first (TQ1) and second (TQ2) versions of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from the 1940s and early 1950s (PE18/33, 90). It also appeared as an adjective and quasi-suffix ᴹQ. kanta “shaped” in the
Select Elvish Words: 12.48 South
12.48 South Q. hyar- pref. “left-hand, south” A prefix meaning either “left-hand” or “south”, depending on context (PE17/18). It is derived from the root ᴹ√KHYAR. Q. hyarmen n. “south, (lit.) left-hand direction” The Quenya word for “south” and the name of tengwa #33 (LotR/1123). It is a combination of ᴹ√KHYAR
Select Elvish Words: 12.47 North
12.47 North Q. formen n. “north, [ᴹQ.] right-hand [direction]” The Quenya word for “north” and the name of tengwa #10 (LotR/1123). It is a combination of ᴹ√PHOR “right-hand” and √MEN “way”, so named because it is the direction to the right when facing west (PE17/18; PE22/23; Ety/PHOR, MEN). It is
Select Elvish Words: 12.46 West
12.46 West Q. andú- pref “going down, setting (of sun), west” A prefix having to do with going down, setting (of sun) and the west (PE17/18) based on √NDU “descend”. See, for example, Andúril “Flame of the West” (LotR/277; PE17/34) or Andustar “Westlands” (UT/165). Q. andúna adj. “western” A longer
Select Elvish Words: 12.45 East
12.45 East Q. (h)róna adj. “eastern, east” An adjective for “east(ern)” appearing as hróna (PE17/18) and róna (RC/385; Ety/RŌ) derived from √(S)RŌ “east”. Q. orróna adj. “eastern” A longer variant of (h)róna “eastern” (PE17/18). Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. órea “of the dawn, Eastern” based
Select Elvish Words: 12.44 Far
12.44 Far Q. haia adv. “in the distance, [ᴹQ.] far (off), far away” The adverb ᴹQ. hāya “far off, far away” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√KHAYA “far, distant, remote” (Ety/KHAYA; EtyAC/KHAYA). It reappeared as haiya “far” in a phrase from the Lament of Atalante
Select Elvish Words: 12.43 Near
12.43 Near Q. ar- pref. “by-, beside, near, [just] outside” This prefix appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as the prefixal form of the preposition ᴹQ. ara under the root ᴹ√AR² “beside, outside”, most notably as an element in ᴹQ. Arvalin “Outside Valinor” (Ety/AR²). In this entry Tolkien said
Select Elvish Words: 12.42 Left (vs. Right)
Q. hyarma n. “left-hand [side]” A word for “left-hand” (VT47/6; VT49/12), a combination of hyar- “left” and má “hand”. It may also mean “left-hand side” based on S. harvo. ᴹQ. hyarmaite adj. “lefthanded” A word for “lefthanded”, a combination of hyar[ya] “left” and maite “handed” (Ety/KHYAR). Conceptual Development: The Qenya