Q. arya adj. “excelling, *better, *best [with definite article + genitive]” (Category: Good)
A word Tolkien said “functions as comparative ... of mára” in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957, derived from the root √AR “good, excellent, noble”, a root whose precise sense is “good of its kind, excels” (PE17/147). In somewhat later notes, arya was glossed “excelling”, again as a comparative of mára, hence also meaning “*better” (PE17/57). Tolkien also gave a formula for a superlative “*best” when used in combination with the definite article i and the genitive, as in i arya atanion “the best of men, (lit.) the [most] excelling of men”.
Neo-Quenya: In a post from 2024-08-14 on the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), Vyacheslav Stepanov suggested arya might express “prefer” when used in combination with the dative, as in nás arya nin “I prefer it, (lit.) it is better for me”, analogous to nás mára nin “I like it, (lit.) it is good for me”.
References ✧ PE17/57-58, 147
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| √ARA > arya | [arja] | ✧ PE17/147 |