Half-man half-orc men

[The Saucepan Man]

It's worth reading the threads in the Index linked to by Sharkû, since they address many of these points.

As I understand it, Uruk-Hai were simply a large, strong form of Orc, more resistant to sunlight than standard Orcs, originally "bred" by Sauron. The name means, I think, "Orc folk". There is no suggestion that they were derived from cross-breeding with Men (although it remains possible that they were).

Saruman had Uruk-Hai at his disposal too at the time of the War of the Ring. But these are not to be confused with the Orc-Man hybrids that he is referred to in LotR as having created.

The films certainly seem to have generated a lot of confusion on this issue. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]