Q. lúmë¹ n. “time; period of time; hour” (Category: Time (period))
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.
References ✧ Let/265, 425; LotR/81; PE17/13, 135, 168; PE23/128; VT43/34; VT49/47; WJ/367
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| lúmenn(a)’ | allative | ✧ PE23/128 | |
| lúmenn[a] | allative | “upon the time” | ✧ PE17/13 |
| lúmenna | allative | ✧ Let/425; PE17/13 | |
| lúmenna | allative | “to/upon the time” | ✧ PE17/135 |
| lúmenna | allative | “upon the hour” | ✧ WJ/367 |
| lúmenn’ | allative elided | “on the hour” | ✧ Let/265; LotR/81 |
| lúmesse | locative | “*at [the] hour” | ✧ VT43/34 |
| lúmissen | locative plural | “at the times” | ✧ VT49/47 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| √ULU > lūmē | [lūmē] > [lūme] | ✧ PE17/168 |
ᴹQ. lúme n. “time, hour” (Category: Time (period))
References ✧ Ety/LU; PE22/125; PE23/100, 108, 110; RS/324
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| lúmesse | locative | “on the hour” | ✧ RS/324 |
| lúmelissen | partitive-plural locative | “*at some/many times” | ✧ PE23/110 |
Element In
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ√LU > lúme | [lūme] | ✧ Ety/LU |
ᴱQ. lúme (lúmi-) n. “time” (Category: Time (period))
References ✧ PE14/51, 84; PE15/68; PME/56; QL/56, 71
Glosses
Variations
Changes
Inflections
| lūmi- | stem | ✧ QL/56 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴱ√LUHU > lūme | [luxmi] > [luxme] > [luɣme] > [lūme] | ✧ QL/56 |