orc

¹

[awrk]

noun

1. any of several cetaceans, as a grampus.

2. a mythical monster, as an ogre.

O.R.C.

²

abbreviation

1. Officers' Reserve Corps.

orc

/ ɔːk /

noun

1. any of various whales, such as the killer and grampus

2. one of an imaginary race of evil goblins, esp in the fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien

Word History and Origins

Origin of orc¹

First recorded in 1520–30; partly from Middle French orque, a kind of whale, partly from Italian orca “large whale, fabulous sea monster,” partly from Latin orca, a kind of whale; orca ( def. ); Orcus ( def. ), ogre

Word History and Origins

Origin of orc¹

C16: via Latin orca, perhaps from Greek orux whale

Example Sentences

Near Harrismith, O.R.C., in 1903, two herd boys with a troop of about a hundred goats and calves were caught by the hail.

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O.R.C., who is a well-known contributor to the American Rifleman and the Infantry Journal and Antiques and the old Gun Report.

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Related Words

• mammal 
• porpoise