Eldamo : Quenya : fai

Q. fai adv. “*before of time” (Category: Before (temporal))

⚠️Q. fai, adv. “*before of time” (Category: Before (temporal)): Q. nó¹ “before (of time); at back (of place); [ᴹQ.] yester-; [ᴱQ.] after (of place), behind; ⚠️after (only of time); than”

An adverb based on √PHĀ “before of time” and thus probably of the same meaning, appearing in rough notes from 1969 with many experimental forms for “before” and “after” (PE22/147). The word fai also appears in the phrase Eru fai, sî, euva, untranslated by apparently meaning “*Eru (was) before, (is) now, will be (after)” as suggested by Christopher Gilson. Related forms afar and afea appear on the same page, also without translation. See my essay on Before and After in Elvish for other words from this paradigm.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would stick with better attested nó for “before of time”.

References ✧ PE22/147

Glosses

“*before of time” ✧ PE22/147

Variations

fai ✧ PE22/147
afea ✧ PE22/147
fan ✧ PE22/147
afayi ✧ PE22/147

Changes

fan >> afayi ✧ PE22/147
afayi >> fai “*before of time” ✧ PE22/147

Element In

Q. Eru fai, sî, euva “*Eru (was) before, (is) now, will be (after)” ✧ PE22/147

Derivations

< √PHĀ/APHA “before of time” ✧ PE22/147 (PHĀ)

Phonetic Developments

√PHĀ > fai

[pʰai] > [ɸai] > [fai]

✧ PE22/147