Quenya is the Elvish language called “High-elven” in J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings.
Tolkien developed Quenya as part of his lifelong construction of languages for the peoples of his imagined world. It was associated especially with the Ñoldor and other high Elves, and its sound and structure were influenced by languages such as Finnish, Latin, and Greek.
Within Middle-earth, Quenya was an ancient and prestigious language rather than the everyday speech of all Elves. Sindarin became more widely used among many Elves in Beleriand and later in Middle-earth. This distinction is why simply calling every Tolkien Elvish word “Quenya” can be misleading.
Tolkien’s language work came before and alongside much of his storytelling. Names, poems, and historical traditions helped him construct a world in which languages had recognizable relationships and histories. Quenya is consequently both a fictional language and a central organizing feature of Tolkien’s legendarium.