epe is a Quenya preposition meaning "before".[1]
The Eldar imagined future time (time that comes "after" the present) as being "before" them, hence the preposition that means "before" of spatial relationships means "after" when applied to time.
Examples
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Eldarin Hands, Fingers & Numerals and Related Writings — Part Three" (edited by Patrick H. Wynne), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 49, June 2007, p. 12