orc
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orc¹
- /ɔɹk/ US
- /ɔːk/ UK
Sounds like ork, awk, auk (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)k
Where it comes from
From Middle French orque, Italian orca, and their source, Latin orca (“type of whale”). Doublet of orca.
noun orcs · ork
- Any of several large, ferocious sea creatures, now especially the killer whale. The latter phenomenon is similar to the conceptual division seen in Ainu society between kimun-kamuy, the bear spirit of the mountains, and repun-kamuy, the orc or dolphin spirit of the sea.
orc²
- /ɔɹk/ US
- /ɔːk/ UK
Sounds like ork, awk, auk (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)k
Where it comes from
Probably from Italian orco (“man-eating giant”); later revived by J. R. R. Tolkien, partly after Old English orc, which he took to mean "demon". Both are from Latin Orcus (“the underworld; the god Pluto”). Doublet of ogre and Orcus.
Etymology 2 sense 2 is a semantic loan from Ukrainian орк (ork, “evil monstrous humanoid creature; orc”) or Russian орк (ork), both from English orc and possibly under the influence of Russian у́рка (úrka, “criminal”, prison slang). Popularized in English in 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
noun orcs · Orc · ork
- A mythical evil monstrous humanoid creature, usually quite aggressive and often green. Who at one stroke didst pare away three heads from off the shoulders of an Orke, begotten by an Incubus.
- A Russian soldier or gangster. Ukrainians themselves, including those on the right, preferred to call the events the 'Revolution of Dignity', depicted not in terms of ethnicity or class, but in simple civic black and white – a revolution of the people against Yanukovych's 'Mordor' and his 'Orcs'.
- A Russian person.
ORC³
proper noun
- Initialism of Orange River Colony
- Acronym of Otago Regional Council
- Abbreviation of Oregon City
noun ORCs
- Acronym of odd radio circle, a very large unexplained astronomical object. Even those who never look into the night sky and wonder about stars or galaxies may find the new research interesting, Diamond-Stanic said, because ORCs help to explain how the galaxy we live in came to be.
- Initialism of organized retail crime
- Initialism of origin recognition complex
Orc⁴
noun Orcs
- Alternative form of orc (monstrous warrior in fantasy; Russian soldier)
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: orca, grampus, whale, beluga, wrc, cro, cros, killer whale, requiem, giant octopus, kraken, rhinodon, seawolf, razorback, sei whale, craber
Translations
Talk about this word "orc." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/orc. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. orc. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/orc "orc." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/orc.Cite this
@misc{orc_2026,
title = {orc},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/orc},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
