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Old 12-13-2003, 11:18 PM   #17
Tar Elenion
Shade of Carn Dûm
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 358
Tar Elenion has just left Hobbiton.
Sting

"There were four goblin-soldiers of greater stature, swart, slant-eyed, with thick legs and large hands. They were armed with short broad-bladed swords, not with the curved scimitars usual with Orcs: and they had bows of yew, in length and shape like the bows of Men."
LotR, TT
The 'goblin-soldiers' are Uruk-hai.

"Upon a stake in the middle was set a great goblin head; upon its shattered helm the white badge could still be seen."
LotR, TT

Another Uruk-hai, perhaps Ugluk

"They had run a long way shouting-he could not remember how far or how long; and then suddenly they had crashed right into a group of Orcs: they were standing listening, and they did not appear to see Merry and Pippin until they were almost in their arms. Then they yelled and dozens of other goblins had sprung out of the trees. Merry and he had drawn their swords, but the Orcs did not wish to fight, and had tried only to lay hold of them, even when Merry had cut off several of their arms and hands. Good old Merry!"
LotR, TT

The Uruk-hai here are referred to as both 'goblins' and 'Orcs'.


"Also the Orcs (goblins) and other monsters bred by the First Enemy are not wholly destroyed."
Letter 131


"Orcs (the word is as far as I am concerned actually derived from Old English orc 'demon', but only because of its phonetic suitability) are nowhere clearly stated to be of any particular origin. But since they are servants of the Dark Power, and later of Sauron, neither of whom could, or would, produce living things, they must be 'corruptions'. They are not based on direct experience of mine; but owe, I suppose, a good deal to the goblin tradition (goblin is used as a translation in The Hobbit, where orc only occurs once, I think), especially as it appears in George MacDonald, except for the soft feet which I never believed in. The name has the form orch (pl. yrch) in Sindarin and uruk in the Black Speech."
Letter 144

"This, Thorin, the runes name Orcrist, the Goblin-cleaver in the ancient tongue of Gondolin..."
The Hobbit

Note the translation of ORCrist as GOBLIN-cleaver

"Orc is not an English word. It occurs in one or two places but is usually translated goblin (or hobgoblin for the larger kind)."
The Hobbit, Foreword

'Orc' and 'goblin' are interchangeable and refer to the same type of being.
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