Tolkien, who was a contributor to the OED had certainly studied this entry. "orque", "orke") came into usage in the Early Modern English language, in the late 16th century according to the Oxford English Dictionary ( OED). In the modern sense more generally in literature, an orc denotes some horrid-faced or shaped monster, including an ogre, a sea monster, or a giant. Hence orc-neas may have possibly been some sort of walking dead monster, a product of ancient necromancy, or even be flat out called zombies, to use a familiar modern term from popular culture. If *orcné is to be glossed as orcus 'corpse', then the compound word can be construed as "demon-corpses", or "corpse from Orcus (i.e. It is generally supposed to contain an element -né, cognate to Gothic naus and Old Norse nár, both meaning 'corpse'. orcus "the underworld" + neas "corpses", to which the translation "evil spirits" failed to do justice. Frederick Klaeber suggested it consisted of orc < L. Orcneas is translated "evil spirits" above, but its meaning is uncertain. Tolkien's concept of orcs has been adapted into the fantasy fiction of other authors, and into games of many different genres such as Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and Warcraft.īeowulf 's eotenas ond ylfe ond orcneas, "ogres and elves and demon-corpses", inspiring Tolkien to create orcs and other races The orc "sea monster" derived from orca, was unconnected to Tolkien's orc, but the other orc monster had the same Old English origins as Tolkien's orc, but also influenced by ogre ( Italian: orco) of Northern European folk tales and fairy tales. late 16th cent.), according to the Oxford English Dictionary presumably consulted by Tolkien. The use of the term orc in the sense of "sea monster" or "devouring monster, ogre" already occurred in Early Modern English (ca. Tolkien adopted the term orc from these old attestations, which he professed was a choice made purely for "phonetic suitability" reasons. ![]() orc-néas, "demon-corpses") was a race of corrupted beings and Descendants of Cain, alongside the elf, according to the poem Beowulf. ![]() The orc was a sort of "hell-devil" or giant in Old English literature, and the orc-né (pl. They are a corrupted race of elves, either bred that way by Morgoth, or turned savage in that manner, according to the Silmarillion. The orcs appear (especially in The Lord of the Rings) as a brutish, aggressive, ugly, and malevolent race of monsters, contrasting with the benevolent Elves. Tolkien's Middle Earth fantasy fiction, is a race of humanoid monsters, which he also refers to as " goblin"-kind. An orc (sometimes spelled ork / ɔːr k/, adjective: orkish, orcish), in general, is a hideous creature such as an ogre, a sea monster, or a giant in literature.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |