Eldamo : Quenya : caita-²

Q. caita-² v. (ta-causative) “*to lay (something down)” (Category: to Put, Place, Set, Lay)

Q. caita-², v. (ta-causative) “*to lay (something down); [ᴱQ.] to place” (Category: to Put, Place, Set, Lay): ᴺQ. !etepanya- “to put forth”; ᴺQ. !sasta- “to put, place”

In Tolkien’s later writings, caita- was generally used as an intransitive, half-strong verb meaning “to lie (down)”, with a past tense caine (strong) or ceante (half-strong). In Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969, Tolkien provided an alternate conjugation of caita- as a weak verb with past tense caitane (PE22/159), clearly derived from the same root √KAY. This strong conjugation is probably a transitive form of the verb meaning “*to lay (something down)”.

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. kaita- as a verb meaning “place” under the early root ᴱ√KAYA (QL/46). This early verb hints at another possible meaning for transitive caita-: “to place”. In the Early Qenya Grammar (EQG) of the 1920s, kaita had an intransitive meaning “lie down”, with strong past kaine (PE14/58).

References ✧ PE22/159

Inflections

caita	aorist	✧ PE22/159
caitúva	future	✧ PE22/159
caitane	past	✧ PE22/159
acaitie	perfect	✧ PE22/159
caitea	present	✧ PE22/159

Derivations

< √KAY “lie”

ᴱQ. kaita- v. “to place, lie down” (Category: to Lie, Recline)

References ✧ PE14/58; QL/46

Glosses

“to place” ✧ QL/46

Variations

kaita- ✧ QL/46

Inflections

kaine	past		✧ PE14/58
kaita	present	“lie down”	✧ PE14/58

Derivations

< ᴱ✶kaı̯- “to lie down” ✧ PE14/58
- < ᴱ√KAYA “lie, rest; dwell”
< ᴱ√KAYA “lie, rest; dwell” ✧ QL/46

Phonetic Developments

ᴱ✶kaı̯ > kaita	[kajta-] > [kaita-]	✧ PE14/58
ᴱ√KAYA > kaita-	[kajta-] > [kaita-]	✧ QL/46