Q. ec- v. (basic-verb) “to have a chance of; may, can” (Category: Can, May)
An impersonal verb meaning “may, can”, or more specifically “have chance, opportunity or permission”, appearing in notes from 1967 based on the root √ek “it is open” (VT49/20). As suggested by Patrick Wynne, this verb is likely related to the particle of uncertainty cé. As a verb, it was used impersonally with the putative subject in the dative: ece nin “I may, I can = (lit.) there is chance for me [to do it]” (VT49/34 note #23). For “can” in the sense “am able to”, see pol-.
Conceptual Development: An earlier verb of similar meaning was ᴱQ. lata- “am able to (used of opportunity, permission)” from the English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s (PE15/67).
References ✧ VT49/20, 34
Variations
Inflections
| eke | aorist | “may, can” | ✧ VT49/20 |
| ekuva | future | “have a chance of” | ✧ VT49/20 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| √ek > eke | [ek-] | ✧ VT49/20 |