troll

troll
{{11}}troll (n.) "ugly dwarf or giant," 1610s, from O.N. troll "giant, fiend, demon." Some speculate that it originally meant "creature that walks clumsily," and derives from P.Gmc. *truzlan, from *truzlanan (see TROLL (Cf. troll) (v.)). But it seems to have been a general supernatural word, Cf. Swed. trolla "to charm, bewitch;" O.N. trolldomr "witchcraft." The old sagas tell of the troll-bull, a supernatural being in the form of a bull, as well as boar-trolls. There were troll-maidens, troll-wives, and troll-women; the trollman, a magician or wizard, and the troll-drum, used in Lappish magic rites. The word was popularized in English by 19c. antiquarians, but it has been current in the Shetlands and Orkneys since Viking times. The first record of it is from a court document from the Shetlands, regarding a certain Catherine, who, among other things, was accused of "airt and pairt of witchcraft and sorcerie, in hanting and seeing the Trollis ryse out of the kyrk yeard of Hildiswick." Originally conceived as a race of giants, they have suffered the same fate as the Celtic Danann and are now regarded in Denmark and Sweden as dwarfs and imps supposed to live in caves or under the ground.
{{12}}troll (v.) late 14c., "to go about, stroll," later (early 15c.) "roll from side to side, trundle," from O.Fr. troller, a hunting term, "wander, to go in quest of game without purpose," from a Germanic source (Cf. O.H.G. trollen "to walk with short steps"), from P.Gmc. *truzlanan. Sense of "sing in a full, rolling voice" (first attested 1570s) and that of "fish with a moving line" (c.1600) are both extended technical applications of the general sense of "roll, trundle," the latter perhaps confused with TRAIL (Cf. trail) or TRAWL (Cf. trawl). Figurative sense of "to draw on as with a moving bait, entice, allure" is from 1560s. Meaning "to cruise in search of sexual encounters" is recorded from 1967, originally in homosexual slang.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • troll — [ trɔl ] n. m. • 1842; mot suéd. ♦ Esprit, lutin des légendes scandinaves. ⊗ HOM. Trolle. ● troll nom masculin (suédois troll) Esprit malveillant du folklore scandinave, habitant les montagnes ou les forêts. ● troll (homonymes) nom masculin… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Troll — Sm erw. exot. ass. (17. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus den nordischen Sprachen (nschw. troll). Dieses aus anord. troll, tro̧ll n. unklarer Herkunft. Das nordische Wort fällt im Deutschen zusammen mit älterem trol Tölpel, ungeschlachter Mensch ,… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Troll — Troll, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Trolled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Trolling}.] [OE. trollen to roll, F. tr[^o]ler, Of. troller to drag about, to ramble; probably of Teutonic origin; cf. G. trollen to roll, ramble, sich trollen to be gone; or perhaps for… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Troll — Troll, n. [Icel. troll. Cf. {Droll}, {Trull}.] (Scand. Myth.) A supernatural being, often represented as of diminutive size, but sometimes as a giant, and fabled to inhabit caves, hills, and like places; a witch. [1913 Webster] {Troll flower}.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Troll — Troll, n. 1. The act of moving round; routine; repetition. Burke. [1913 Webster] 2. A song the parts of which are sung in succession; a catch; a round. [1913 Webster] Thence the catch and troll, while Laughter, holding both his sides, sheds tears …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Troll — »Kobold, Dämon«: Das im 17. Jh. aus dem Nord. (vgl. gleichbed. schwed. troll) entlehnte Substantiv hat sich mit einem heimischen Wort älter nhd. Troll (mhd. troll »grober, ungeschlachter Kerl«) vermischt, das wohl zu dem unter ↑ trollen… …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

  • Troll — Troll, v. i. 1. To roll; to run about; to move around; as, to troll in a coach and six. [1913 Webster] 2. To move rapidly; to wag. F. Beaumont. [1913 Webster] 3. To take part in trolling a song. [1913 Webster] 4. To fish with a rod whose line… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • troll — Ⅰ. troll [1] ► NOUN ▪ (in folklore) an ugly cave dwelling being depicted as either a giant or a dwarf. ORIGIN originally in the sense «witch»: from Old Norse and Swedish troll, Danish trold. Ⅱ. troll [2] ► VERB 1) …   English terms dictionary

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