ᴹQ. oia- v. (basic-verb) “to live, pass one’s days” (Category: Time (other))
A verb used for “live” in the sense “pass one’s days” appearing in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) of 1948 based on the root ᴹ√OY of the same meaning (PE22/125). Tolkien said oia- was a defective verb without an aorist, and so naturally had a continuous sense: i Elda oia Valinóresse = “the Elves live [are living] in Valinor”. Its weak past tense oiane is also functionally a past imperfect: i Elda oiane Valinóresse “the Elves were living in Valinor”. Its strong past oine is functionally a perfect: i Elda oine Valinóresse “the Elves had lived in Valinor” meaning that life had ceased, and thus implying that in the current time the subject is no longer alive, e.g. the Elves lived and then died in Valinor.
References ✧ PE22/125
Related
Inflections
| oine | past | “lived” | ✧ PE22/125 |
| oiane | past-imperfect | ✧ PE22/125 | |
| oianer | past-imperfect plural | “lived” | ✧ PE22/125 |
| oine | perfect | “have lived” | ✧ PE22/125 |
| oia | present | ✧ PE22/125 | |
| oiar | present plural | “do live” | ✧ PE22/125 |
Element In
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ√OY > oia | [oja] > [oia] | ✧ PE22/125 |