Ogres

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Mythical beings characterized by monstrous shapes and often linked to stories of moral lessons and fears
2. Legendary figures typically regarded as cruel or savage, frequently appearing in folklore as embodiments of hidden dangers
3. Large, frightening creatures from stories, often depicted with grotesque features and hostile behavior

Etymology: The most striking thing about "ogres" is where it comes from: a Roman god of the underworld, whose name traces back to an Ancient Greek demon who punished people who broke their oaths. Greek "Hórkos" was the personified spirit of the oath itself, and his punishment fell on anyone who swore falsely. The Romans adapted the name as "Orcus," a god of the dead and the underworld, and it was this Latin name that carried the idea of a dark, dangerous realm into later European languages. "Ogre" reached English in the 18th century by way of French, which had "ogre" in the same sense. The word is a doublet of "orc" and "Orcus," meaning English has two forms descended from the same source, one of them coming through a different route. In its earliest uses, the word belonged to the world of myth and terror, and the monsters it named were defined less by their appearance than by a threat that lurked just beyond the edge of ordinary life.

Synonyms: monster, beast, brute, goblin, troll