10.24 to Drop Q. limba n. “drop” A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “a drop”, derived from the root ᴹ√LIB¹ “drip” (Ety/LIB¹). Conceptual Development: This noun may be a later iteration of ᴱQ. litl or lipte “a tiny drop” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, a
Select Elvish Words 10.23: to Fall [Sindarin]
10.23 to Fall S. danna- v. “to fall” A Sindarin verb for “fall” in Notes on Galadriel’s Song (NGS) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, cognate to Q. lanta- and derived from √DAN-TA (PE17/62). Elsewhere the root for “fall down” was √DAT (VT47/29; VT48/24; Ety/DAT), so √DAN-TA was probably
Select Elvish Words 10.23: to Fall [Quenya]
10.23 to Fall Q. atalantë n. “collapse, downfall” A noun for “collapse, downfall” mentioned in notes for the Markirya poem of the 1950s along with its adjectival form atalantëa (MC/223), likely derived from the root √TALAT. It is also used as one of the names of Númenor: Atalantë “Downfall(en)” (S/281;
Select Elvish Words 10.21 to Rise
10.21: to Rise ᴹQ. ef- v. “to emerge (especially from water)” A verb appearing in its present tense form épha in a rejected page of verbal roots from the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) written in 1948 (PE22/127). It was based on the root ᴹ√EPH “emerge (especially from water, opp[osite] of
Select Elvish Words 10.14: to Wind, Wrap
10.14 to Wind, Wrap Q. lapa- v. “to wrap, swathe, wind” A verb appearing as ᴱQ. lapa- “wrap, swathe, wind” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√LAPA “enfold” (QL/51). Neo-Quenya: The root √LAP reappeared in Tolkien’s later writings with similar glosses “fold, bend” (VT47/35), so
Select Elvish Words 10.13 to Turn Around
10.13 to Turn Around Q. nuquerna adj. “reversed, inverted, *(lit.) under-turned” A word meaning “reversed” (LotR/1123) or “inverted” (PE22/49) in the names of the tengwars árë nuquerna and silmë nuquerna. It appears to be a combination of nu “under” and an adjectival form querna of the verb quer- “turn”, so
Select Elvish Words 10.11-10.12: to Move, Turn
10.11 to Move ᴱQ. lev- v. “to move” An intransitive verb appearing as ᴱQ. lev- “(intr.) move” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s, versus transitive ᴱQ. lehta- “[cause to] move” (PE16/132). The editors suggested it was likely related to the early roots ᴱ√ELE “drive, push, thrust” and ᴱ√LEHE “come,
Select Elvish Words 9.992-9.993: Way, Manner, to Happen
9.992 Way, Manner Q. lé¹ n. “way, method, manner” A noun appearing in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s based on the root √LEÑ having to do with behavior (PE17/74). As an example of its use, Tolkien gave the sentence “that is not A’s way”. Q. lenga- v.
Select Elvish Words 9.98: to Try
9.98 to Try Q. nev- v. “to try, *seek opportunity, experiment” A verb for “to try” based on the root √NDEB in notes from the 1960s (PE17/167). As suggested by Christopher Gilson, this appears to be a draft of Tolkien’s attempt to define the phrase “try harder” in Quenya. Of
Select Elvish Words 9.97: Difficult
9.97 Difficult ᴱQ. auqa adj. “awkward, clumsy ⚠️(of things), difficult” A word in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s appearing as ᴱQ. auqa “awkward, clumsy (of things); awkward, difficult”, an adjectival form of ᴱQ. auk “a fool, clumsy fellow” (QL/33). Neo-Quenya: I would retain ᴺQ. auqua for purposes of Neo-Quenya,