orco

orc

orco ("k") noun "Orc", pl. orcor or orqui (WJ:390, ÓROK; pl. Orcor also in WJ:12, MR:74, 194). If the pl. form orqui is preferred, the word should be assigned the stem-form orcu-. Early "Qenya" has orc ("k") (orqu-) ("q") "monster, demon" (LT1:264; in LotR-style Quenya, no word can end in -rc.)

orco

noun. Orc

This word was adapted from its Sindarin cognate orch, since the Noldor did not encounter orcs until they returned to Middle-earth (WJ/390). There are two attested plurals for this word, orqui and orcor. One possible scenario is that the word was at first treated as a u-stem noun by analogy with urco (urcu-), but later as the two words were disassociated, the declension of orco was regularized and treated as an ordinary vocalic noun.

This is the theory followed here, so that orcor is considered the regular plural and orqui archaic, probably active only in the First Age. If you use the orqui plural, you should also treat this as a u-stem noun (orcu-). @@@

Cognates

• S. orch “Orc, Orc, [N.] goblin” ✧ PE17/047; WJ/390
• Bs. uruk “Orc” ✧ PE17/047
• Wes. orka “orc” ✧ PE17/047

Derivations

• S. orch “Orc, Orc, [N.] goblin” ✧ PE17/047; WJ/390
  • ✶urku/urkō “orc” ✧ WJ/390
  • √RUK “terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, [ᴹ√] demon” ✧ WJ/389
  • ✶urkā “horrible” ✧ WJ/390
  • √RUK “terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, [ᴹ√] demon” ✧ WJ/389

Variations

• orko ✧ WJ/390
• Orko ✧ WJI/Orc(s)

urco

orc

urco ("k"), stem *urcu- and pl. urqui, noun: an old word used in the lore of the Blessed Realm for anything that caused fear to the Elves during the March; by the Exiled Noldor the word was recognized as the cognate of Sindarin orch and used to mean "Orc". The Sindarin-influenced form orco was also used. (WJ:390)

glamog

noun. orc

Element in

• S. Glamdring “Foe-hammer” ✧ WJ/391
• S. Glamhoth “Orcs, (lit.) Din-horde, Host of Tumult” ✧ WJI/Glamhoth

Variations

• Glamog ✧ WJI/Glamhoth

orch

Orc

pl1. yrch, pl2. orchoth** ** n. Orc. Nand. ūriſ.

orch

noun. Orc, Orc, [N.] goblin

Cognates

• Ad. uruk “orc, goblin” ✧ WJ/390
• Bs. uruk “Orc” ✧ WJ/390; Let/178; PE17/052
• Kh. rukhs “Orc” ✧ WJ/390
• Q. orco “Orc” ✧ PE17/047; WJ/390
• Nan. urch “Orc” ✧ PE17/054

Derivations

• ✶urku/urkō “orc” ✧ WJ/390
  • √RUK “terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, [ᴹ√] demon” ✧ WJ/389
• ✶urkā “horrible” ✧ WJ/390
  • √RUK “terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, [ᴹ√] demon” ✧ WJ/389

Derivatives

• Q. orco “Orc” ✧ PE17/047; WJ/390

Element in

• ᴺS. erchion “orchish”
• S. Orcrist “Orc-cleaver”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶urkō > orch	[urkō] > [urko] > [urkʰo] > [urxo] > [orxo] > [orx]	✧ WJ/390
✶urkā > orch	[urkā] > [urka] > [urkʰa] > [urxa] > [orxa] > [orx]	✧ WJ/390
✶urkō > Yrch	[urkī] > [urki] > [urkʰi] > [urxi] > [orxi] > [urxi] > [yrxi] > [yrx]	✧ WJ/390

Variations

• Orch ✧ WJ/390; WJI/Orc(s)

orch

noun. Goblin, Orc

orchoth

noun. the Orcs (as a race)

urug

noun. Orc (rarely used)

glamhoth

noun. barbaric host of Orcs

urug

noun. "bogey", anything that caused fear to the Elves, any dubious shape or shadow, or prowling creature

glamog

noun. an Orc, "a yelling one"

glamhoth

collective name. Orcs, (lit.) Din-horde, Host of Tumult

A collective term for Orcs, translated “din-horde” or “host(s) of tumult” (UT/54, MR/109, PE17/39). This name is combination of glam “din, uproar” and hoth “host, horde” (WJ/391, SA/hoth). This term was sufficiently common that it was generalized into another word for Orc: glamog (WJ/391).

Conceptual Development: The term G. Glamhoth was used for Orcs in the earliest Lost Tales (LT2/160), but at this early stage was translated “People of Dreadful Hate” with its initial element being G. glâm “hate” (GL/39). In The Etymologies from the 1930s, Tolkien revised the derivation of N. Glamhoth so that its initial element was N. glamm “shouting, confused noise; barbarous speech” (Ety/GLAM), and the term retained essentially the same derivation in later writings.

Element in

• S. gurth an Glamhoth “Death to the din-horde” ✧ UT/039

Elements

Word	Gloss
glam	“din, uproar, the confused yelling and bellowing of beasts, din, uproar, bellowing of beasts, [N.] shouting, confused noise; barbarous speech; [ᴱN.] hatred, [G.] loathing, fierce hate”
hoth	“host, horde, host, horde, [N.] crowd; group plural; [ᴱN.] folk, [G.] people; †army”

Variations

• glam-hoth ✧ PE17/039

orch

orc

orch (pl. yrch**, archaic †yrchy, coll. pl. orchoth). (RGEO:66, Names:171, Letters:178, MR:195; WJ:390-91, VT46:7). Other terms: 1) urug (monster, bogey), pl. yryg, 2) glamog (i **lamog), pl. glemyg (in glemyg) (WJ:391), 3) ”

orch

orc

(pl. yrch, archaic †yrchy, coll. pl. orchoth). (RGEO:66, Names:171, Letters:178, MR:195; WJ:390-91, VT46:7). Other terms:  1) urug (monster, bogey), pl. yryg, 2) glamog (i ’lamog), pl. glemyg (in glemyg) (WJ:391), 3) ”

glam

body of orcs

(i ’lam) (din, uproar, tumult, confused yelling of beasts; shouting, confused noise), pl. glaim (in glaim), coll. pl. glammath

glamhoth

host of tumult

(a term for Orcs, also translated ”Yelling-horde”). (UT:54, MR:109, 195;

urch

noun. Orc

Cognates

• S. orch “Orc, Orc, [N.] goblin” ✧ PE17/054

ūriʃ

noun. orcs

urc

noun. Orc

pl. yrc. In the Etymologies, the primitive form of this word is given as órku (defined as "goblin"), derived from an undefined stem ÓROK (LR:379).

This stem may be understood as a vowel-prefixed variant of the stem ROK "horse", assuming that this originally referred to the steed of the monstrous "dark Rider upon his wild horse" that haunted the Elves by Cuiviénen, assuming that the stem ROK was originally associated with Melkor's creatures. However, Tolkien later derived the Elvish words for "Orc" from a stem RUKU having to do with fear (WJ:389) and listed tentative primitive forms: urku, uruku, urkô. Since primitive final -u is lost in Nandorin (cf. Utum from Utubnu), the forms urku and uruku would evidently be capable of yielding Green-elven urc (while urkô would rather come out as *urca; cf. golda "Noldo" from ñgolodô). The plural form yrc clearly shows umlaut caused by the lost Primitive Quendian plural ending -î; cf. the umlaut caused by the primitive adjectival ending -i, primitive lugni "blue" yielding lygn.

uruk

noun. Orc

Cognates

• S. orch “Orc, Orc, [N.] goblin” ✧ WJ/390; Let/178; PE17/052
• Q. orco “Orc” ✧ PE17/047

Derivations

• ✶urku/urkō “orc” ✧ WJ/390
  • √RUK “terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, [ᴹ√] demon” ✧ WJ/389

Element in

• Bs. Uruk-hai “Orc-folk” ✧ WJI/Uruk

Variations

• Uruks ✧ LotR/0324; LotRI/Uruks
• uruks ✧ SD/033
• Uruk ✧ WJI/Uruk

rukhs

noun. Orc

Cognates

• S. orch “Orc, Orc, [N.] goblin” ✧ WJ/390

Derivations

• ✶urku/urkō “orc” ✧ WJ/390
  • √RUK “terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, [ᴹ√] demon” ✧ WJ/389

Variations

• Rukhs ✧ WJ/391
• Rúkhs ✧ WJI/Rúkhs

urku/urkō

noun. orc

Derivations

• √RUK “terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, [ᴹ√] demon” ✧ WJ/389

Derivatives

• Ad. uruk “orc, goblin” ✧ WJ/390
• Bs. uruk “Orc” ✧ WJ/390
• Kh. rukhs “Orc” ✧ WJ/390
• Q. urco “bogey, orc” ✧ WJ/390
• S. orch “Orc, Orc, [N.] goblin” ✧ WJ/390
  • Q. orco “Orc” ✧ PE17/047; WJ/390
• S. urug “bogey” ✧ WJ/390

Variations

• uruk ✧ WJ/390
• urku/uruku ✧ WJ/390
• urkō ✧ WJ/390

orch

noun. Goblin, Orc

orch

noun. goblin

Cognates

• ᴹQ. orko “goblin” ✧ Ety/ÓROK; LR/406

Derivations

• On. orko “goblin” ✧ Ety/ÓROK; Ety/ÓROK
  • ᴹ✶orku “goblin” ✧ Ety/ÓROK
  • ᴹ√OROK “*goblin” ✧ Ety/ÓROK

Element in

• N. Annerchi(o)n “Goblin Gate”
• N. Orchrist

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. orko > orch	[orko] > [orkʰo] > [orxo] > [orx]	✧ Ety/ÓROK
On. orkui > yrchy	[orkui] > [orkʰui] > [orxui] > [urxui] > [yrxui] > [yrxy]	✧ Ety/ÓROK

glamhoth

noun. barbaric host of Orcs

glamhoth

collective name. Orcs, (lit.) Barbaric Host

Element in

• N. Glamdring “Foe-hammer”

Elements

Word	Gloss
glamm	“shouting, confused noise; barbarous speech”
hoth	“host, crowd; group plural”