The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - orcs and goblins- what's the difference???

Boromir88 · 05-31-2006, 12:36 PM

Tuor, I'm ok with Wikipedia's article, except for the last paragraph. As I quoted there are two times when Grishnakh is referred to as a "goblin," and he was a messenger that served Sauron directly.

I will note that it is interesting how typically "Orcs" are capitalized and "goblins" are not. Tolkien was a linguist, I've always thought that "goblins" tend more to kind of like slang, therefor uncapitalized, where "Orc" is the proper term for them. Others suggest that this creates a slight difference between the two.

But, as can be clearly shown Orcs and goblins are two words for the same thing. An orc can be called a goblin, and vice versa.

05-31-2006, 12:36 PM	#2
Boromir88 Laconic Loreman Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: USA Posts: 7,521	Tuor, I'm ok with Wikipedia's article, except for the last paragraph. As I quoted there are two times when Grishnakh is referred to as a "goblin," and he was a messenger that served Sauron directly. I will note that it is interesting how typically "Orcs" are capitalized and "goblins" are not. Tolkien was a linguist, I've always thought that "goblins" tend more to kind of like slang, therefor uncapitalized, where "Orc" is the proper term for them. Others suggest that this creates a slight difference between the two. But, as can be clearly shown Orcs and goblins are two words for the same thing. An orc can be called a goblin, and vice versa. __________________ Fenris Penguin