Early Quenya
ondolin ninqanéron
the rocks lay white
Element in
Elements
Word Gloss ondo “stone, rock” ninqa- “to shine white” Variations
- {ondon móren >> ondoin mórin >>} ondoin morin {ninqen >>} ninqe ✧ PE16/062
- öndöin moorin ninkve ✧ PE16/072
- ondoin {mórin} {ninqe >> ninqist >>} ninqanéron ✧ PE16/074
The eleventh phrase of the first version of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/220). Its first word is the nominative plural form of ondo “rock” followed by the past 3rd-plural masculine form of the verb ninqa- “to shine white”, with “lay” being a loose translation.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> ondo-li-n ninqa-né-ron = “✱rock-(plural)-(nominative) shine-white-(past)-they”
Conceptual Development: A preliminary form of this phrase appeared in the fourth draft of this poem, ondoin morin ninqe “the dark rocks were white” (OM1d: PE16/62). This is a copula, with “is” understood. The subject ondoin and its modifying adjective were morin both nominative plural, while its predicate adjective ninqe does not appear to be inflected at all.
Tolkien altered the phrase into its final verbal formation in the sixth draft (OM1f: PE16/74).