Eldamo : Middle Quenya : nengwe

ᴹQ. nengwe (nengwi-) n. “nose” (Category: Nose)

ᴹQ. nengwë (nengwi-), n. “nose” (Category: Nose): ᴱQ. ‽penta “nose, beak (probably of such birds as woodpeckers)”; ᴱQ. súnë “(human) nose”

A word for “nose” in The Etymologies written around 1937, derived from ᴹ√NEÑ-WI (Ety/NEÑ-WI), an elaboration of the shorter root ᴹ√NEÑ (EtyAC/NEÑ-WI). Given its primitive form, its stem ought to be nengwi-, but in attested compounds this word is consistently nengwe-, so perhaps Tolkien changed his mind on its primitive form.

Conceptual Development: The earliest percursor to this word seems to be ᴱQ. nen (neng-) “nostril” in several documents from the 1920s (PE14/72; PE15/75; PE16/113), whose dual nenqi was also used for a “nose” of one person (PE14/76; PE15/75). In the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s, Tolkien had nin (ning-) “beak, nose” < ᴹ✶nengǝ (PE21/26), though this phonetic shift of short e to i is rather unusual and seems to be limited to this document.

References ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI; PE22/11, 22, 50

Glosses

“nose” ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI; PE22/22; PE22/50

Variations

nengwe ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI; PE22/22; PE22/50; PE22/11 (#nengwe)

Inflections

nengwi

plural

✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI

Element In

ᴹQ. nengwea “nasal” ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI
ᴹQ. nengwetanwa “nasal-infixed”
ᴺQ. ^nenquet- “to condescend, (orig.) speak down the nose”
ᴺQ. nungwë “cold (in the nose or head)”
ᴹQ. nengwetehta “nasal sign” ✧ PE22/11

Cognates

Ilk. nîw “nose” ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI
N. nem “nose” ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI

Derivations

< ᴹ✶neñwi “nose” ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI (NEÑ-WI)
- < ᴹ√NEÑ “*nose” ✧ EtyAC/NEÑ-WI

Phonetic Developments

ᴹ✶NEÑ-WI > nengwe

[neŋwi] > [neŋgwi] > [neŋgwe]

✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI

ᴹQ. nin (ning-) n. “nose, beak” (Category: Nose)

See ᴹQ. nengwe for discussion.

References ✧ PE21/19, 25-26

Glosses

“beak, nose” ✧ PE21/26
“nose” ✧ PE21/19

Variations

nin ✧ PE21/19; PE21/26

Inflections

ningullo	ablative	✧ PE21/26
†ningulo	ablative	✧ PE21/26
ninga	accusative	✧ PE21/26
†nenta	allative; assimilated	✧ PE21/26
†ningata	allative	✧ PE21/26
ningunta	allative	✧ PE21/26
†ninta	allative; assimilated	✧ PE21/26
ningen	dative	✧ PE21/26
ningo	genitive	✧ PE21/26
ninganen	instrumental	✧ PE21/25; PE21/26
ningwen	instrumental	✧ PE21/25; PE21/26
ningumet	instrumental dual	✧ PE21/26
ningwet	instrumental dual	✧ PE21/26
ningínen	instrumental plural	✧ PE21/26
ningesse	locative	✧ PE21/26
nin	nominative	✧ PE21/26
ningunt	nominative dual	✧ PE21/26
ningin	nominative plural	✧ PE21/26
†ningulin	nominative plural	✧ PE21/26
ninguva	possessive	✧ PE21/26
ninganon	similative	✧ PE21/26
†ningaron	similative	✧ PE21/26
†neng-	stem	✧ PE21/19

Derivations

< ᴹ✶nengǝ “beak, nose” ✧ PE21/26 (neŋgǝ-)
- < ᴹ√NEÑ “*nose”