Q. nahta-¹ v. (ta-formative) “to slay; to hurt, injure, wound” (Category: to Kill)
A verb for “slay” based on the root √NDAK (PE22/156). Conjugations from 1964 (PE17/77) and 1969 (PE22/156-157, 159, 164) indicate it was a half-strong verb with past tense nacante, though it also had an (archaic) strong past †nance (PE22/159).
Conceptual Development: This verb dates back to the Early Qenya Phonology of the 1920s where Tolkien had ᴱQ. nahta- “slay cruelly” based on primitive ᴱ✶ndagta- from the early root ᴱ√DAGA (PE14/66). In The Etymologies of the 1930s this root became ᴹ√NDAK “slay”, but this verb was not mentioned (Ety/NDAK). The verb ᴹQ. nahta- “slay” was mentioned again in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948, but there its root shifted back to √NDAG “slay” (PE22/102, 114-115).
In 1959 revisions to the Outline of Phonology (OP2), the root again became √NDAK “hew, slay”, but Q. nahta- was derived from an unrelated root √SNAG “wound” and was itself glossed “hurt, injure, wound” (PE19/91). A conjugation for nahta- appeared in notes from 1964, but without glosses (PE17/77). The verb nahta- appeared in quite a few examples in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969, and in those notes the gloss was again “slay” and its root was again √NDAK “hew” (PE22/156).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d stick to the meaning “to slay” for nahta-, and for “wound” I’d use [ᴹQ.] harna-.
References ✧ PE17/77; PE19/91; PE22/156-157, 159, 164; VT49/24
Glosses
Variations
Related
Changes
Inflections
| nahtaila | active-participle | ✧ PE22/156 | |
| nahtila | active-participle | ✧ PE22/156 | |
| nahta | aorist | ✧ PE17/77; PE22/157; PE22/159; PE22/164 | |
| nahatan | aorist 1st-sg | ✧ PE22/164 | |
| nahtan | aorist 1st-sg | “slay” | ✧ PE22/156 |
| nahtan | aorist 1st-sg | “I slay” | ✧ VT49/24 |
| nahtuva | future | ✧ PE17/77; PE22/159; PE22/164 | |
| nakuva | future | ✧ PE17/77: [older?] | |
| nahtana | passive-participle | “*slain” | ✧ VT49/24 |
| anaktane | past | ✧ PE17/77 | |
| nakante | past; half-strong-past | ✧ PE17/77; PE22/157; PE22/159; PE22/164 | |
| nakante | past; half-strong-past | “slew” | ✧ PE22/156 |
| nanke | past; strong-past | ✧ PE22/157 | |
| †nanke | past; strong-past | ✧ PE22/159 | |
| anahtie | perfect | ✧ PE17/77; PE22/157; PE22/159; PE22/164 | |
| anákie | perfect; strong-perfect | ✧ PE22/159 | |
| anākie | perfect; strong-perfect | ✧ PE22/157 | |
| anākie | perfect; strong-perfect | ✧ PE22/164 | |
| nahtea | present | ✧ PE17/77; PE22/159 | |
| nahtia | present | ✧ PE22/157; PE22/164 |
Element In
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| √SNAG > nahta- | [snagta-] > [snakta-] > [n̥akta-] > [n̥axta-] > [naxta-] | ✧ PE19/91 |
| ✶ndakta > nahtan | [ndakta-] > [nakta-] > [naxta-] | ✧ PE22/156 |
| √ndak- > nahtan | [ndakta-] > [nakta-] > [naxta-] | ✧ VT49/24 |
ᴹQ. nahta- v. (ta-formative) “to slay” (Category: to Kill)
References ✧ PE22/93, 102, 104, 114-115
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| nahtanye | aorist 1st-sg | “I slay” | ✧ PE22/93 |
| nahtan | aorist with-1st-sg-object | “(somebody unspecified[?]) slays me, I am slain” | ✧ PE22/93 |
| nahtan | aorist with-1st-sg-object | “slays me = I am slain” | ✧ PE22/93 |
| nahtuva | future | ✧ PE22/115 | |
| nahtaina | imperfect-passive-participle | “being killed” | ✧ PE22/115 |
| anahtalye | long-perfect | “has slain” | ✧ PE22/104 |
| nahtanelye | long-perfect | “has slain” | ✧ PE22/104 |
| nahtina | passive-participle | ✧ PE22/114 | |
| nahante | past; half-strong-past | ✧ PE22/115: analogical | |
| nahtane | past | ✧ PE22/102 | |
| naktane | past | “slew” | ✧ PE22/115 |
| nahtanelya | perfect-participle | “having slain” | ✧ PE22/104 |
Element In
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ√NDAG > nahta- | [ndagta-] > [ndakta-] > [nakta-] > [naxta-] | ✧ PE22/102 |