Q. maitë (maiti-) adj. “handy, skillful; having a hand, handed; shapely” (Category: Hand (other))
An adjective for “handy, skilful” in notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s (VT47/6). ᴹQ. maite had a similar gloss “handy, skilled” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MAƷ “hand” (Ety/MAƷ). Tolkien gave its primitive form as ✶magiti in the 1960s (VT41/10) and as ᴹ✶maʒiti in the 1930s (Ety/MAƷ). Either way, it seems to be a combination of Q. má “hand” and the adjective suffix -itë, with a stem form of maiti-.
As a suffix in compounds, it has the sense “handed” as in Q. formaitë “righthanded” (Ety/PHOR) and Q. morimaitë “black-handed” (PE17/110). As prefix, however, it seems to have meant “shapely, well shaped” as in Maitimo “Well-shaped One” (PM/353). It seems likely the same would be true if the adjective were applied to an object, such as maitë macil “a well-shaped [skillfully made] sword”, as opposed to maitë ohtar “a handy/skillful warrior”.
Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱQ. maqa or maqalea meant “handy, skilled (with hands)” while ᴱQ. mavoite (mavoisi-) meant “having hands”, both under the early root ᴱ√MAHA (QL/57). The Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s Tolkien had ᴱQ. maite “handed” as an element in ᴱQ. erumaite “one handed” (PE14/51, 84; PE16/140). ᴹQ. maite appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as noted above, but with the abnormal plural form maisi (Ety/MAƷ) that seems to be remnant of Early Qenya phonetic developments from the 1910s.
References ✧ PE17/110, 162; UTI/Parmaitë; VT41/10; VT47/6
Glosses
Variations
Related
Inflections
| Maiti- | stem | “shapely” | ✧ VT41/10 |
Elements
| má | “hand” | ✧ PE17/161 (mā); VT47/6 |
| -itë | “adjectival ending; [with verbs] capable of doing, generally (and naturally) doing” |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ✶magiti- > Maiti- | [magiti] > [magite] > [maɣite] > [maite] | ✧ VT41/10 |
ᴹQ. maite (maisi-) adj. “handy, skilled” (Category: Light, Nimble)
References ✧ Ety/MAƷ
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| maisi | plural | ✧ Ety/MAƷ |
Elements
| má¹ | “hand” |
| -ite | “(verbal) adjective ending” |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ✶maʒiti > maite | [maɣiti] > [maɣite] > [maite] | ✧ Ety/MAƷ |
ᴱQ. #maite³ adj. “handed” (Category: Hand (other))
Reference ✧ PE14/84 ✧ #maite “handed”
Element In
ᴱQ. maqa adj. “handy, skilled (with hands)” (Category: Hand (other))
References ✧ QL/57, 90
Glosses
Related
Element In
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴱ√MAHA > maqa | [maxkʷā] > [maxkʷa] > [makkʷa] > [makʷkʷa] > [makʷa] | ✧ QL/57 |
ᴱQ. maqalea adj. “handy, skilled (with hands)” (Category: Hand (other))
Reference ✧ QL/57 ✧ “handy, skilled (with hands)”
Related
Elements
| maqale | “legerdemain, sleight” | ✧ QL/57 |
| #-a | “adjectival suffix” | ✧ QL/57 (#-a) |
ᴱQ. mavoite (mavoisi-) adj. “having hands” (Category: Hand (other))
References ✧ LT2A/Ermabwed; QL/57
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| mavoisi- | stem | ✧ QL/57 |
Elements
| má | “hand” | ✧ LT2A/Ermabwed (mā); QL/57 (mā) |
| #-voite | “adjective suffix” | ✧ QL/57 (#-voite) |
Element In