troll English · revision 39903

+ English has a noun ''troll'' for a creature of Scandinavian folklore, borrowed from Old Norse, and a verb ''troll'' (with nouns formed on it), meaning to stroll, roll, sing or fish with a trailing line, which is probably from Old French; their histories meet in the internet sense.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /tɹɒl/, /tɹəʊl/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /tɹɑl/, /tɹoʊl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|creature of folklore}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=?a1400, R. Mannyng|origins=non troll}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|non|troll|t=giant, fiend, demon]],^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921) or, as the OED and Barnhart put it, a borrowing from early Scandinavian,^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) later reinforced by the modern forms [[no|troll]], [[sv|troll]] and [[da|trold]].^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002) The Old Norse word, also [[m|non|trǫll]], named the huge primordial beings of Norse myth, a fiend or a werewolf.^(OED 2026) Its origin is unknown.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) Barnhart and Etymonline report the suggestion that it first meant a creature that walks clumsily, and connect it with the Germanic verb behind [[gmh|trollen|t=to walk with short steps]];^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Wiktionary reconstructs [[gem-pro|*truzlą]].^(Wiktionary) Merriam-Webster compares [[m|gmh|trolle|t=ghostly monster, lout]],^(MWU 2024) which the OED takes to be itself a loan from Scandinavian.^(OED 2026) The Shorter Oxford compares [[non|trolldómr|t=witchcraft]] and [[sv|trolla|t=to bewitch]].^(SOED 2002)^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A supernatural or monstrous creature: the OED's first example is from Robert Mannyng's ''Chronicle'', probably written in 1338 and copied before 1400.^(OED 2026) Etymonline calls this an isolated use, noting also a ''Willelmus Trol'' in a list of names of 1212,^(Etymonline) and the OED notes ''troll'' in several 14th-century place names in the north and east of England, though it is not sure that they contain this word.^(OED 2026) The Shorter Oxford says the first, rare, use was for a witch or sorceress.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Barnhart's first example is Scottish, from 1616,^(Barnhart 1988) and Etymonline dates the general use from the 1610s.^(Etymonline) Weekley says the word was brought into literary English by antiquaries, like other words of Norse myth such as ''rune'' and ''norn'', but had been in popular use since Scandinavian times in Orkney and Shetland, as ''trow'';^(Weekley 1921)^(Hoad 1986) Wright records ''troll'' there for a fairy or goblin, and ''Troll-houlland'' for a hill thought to be haunted by them.^(Wright 1898) In later folklore trolls became giants or dwarfs living in caves, hills or under bridges.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) From 1697 the word was used of an unpleasant, brutish or ugly person, in a letter of John Evelyn;^(OED 2026) American campus slang used it for an ugly man or woman from 1940.^(GDoS) The internet troll, someone who posts provocative messages to anger others, is recorded from 1992 on Usenet.^(OED 2026) The OED thinks it may be a development of this noun, alluding to the malice and supposed looks and lonely life of such posters, or else come from the verb ''troll'';^(OED 2026) the Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins says that the two words seem to have fallen together in the internet use.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1212 – ''Willelmus Trol'', a personal name.^(Etymonline)

+ * ?a1400 – a monstrous creature, in Mannyng's ''Chronicle''.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1616 – (Scottish) a troll.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1697 – an unpleasant or ugly person.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1940 – (US campus slang) an ugly person.^(GDoS)

+ * 1992 – an internet troll.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1995 – a provocative online post.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # In Scandinavian [[folklore]], a [[supernatural]] creature, a [[giant]] or [[dwarf]], living in caves, hills or under bridges.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # Someone who posts deliberately offensive or provocative messages online to anger others; also, such a message.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # (informal) An unpleasant or ugly person.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[trollish]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|to stroll; to fish}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1400, W. Langland}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|trollen|t=to go about, stroll]], probably [[bor|fro|troller|t=to wander, go in quest of game]], a hunting term (modern [[m|fr|trôler]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024) which is usually traced to a Germanic source; compare [[gmh|trollen|t=to walk with short steps]] (modern [[de|trollen]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) The OED's revised entry calls the origin uncertain and thinks several words may have merged: the French verb, which may go back to an unrecorded [[la-lat|*tragulō|t=to drag]] (the source of [[trail]]); the German verb; and, for the fishing senses, [[xno|troiller|t=to wind yarn onto a reel]], ultimately from [[la|trahō|t=to draw, drag]].^(OED 2026) Hoad also calls it of unknown origin.^(Hoad 1986) Weekley thinks the angling sense may be a separate word, related to a word for a little wheel,^(Weekley 1921) and Etymonline thinks the fishing sense may have been confused with ''trail'' or [[trawl]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To wander or stroll: Langland's ''Piers Plowman'', in the phrase ''trolled forth'',^(OED 2026)^(GDoS) written before 1387 according to Barnhart^(Barnhart 1988) and dated about 1400 in the OED, from a manuscript of the B-text of about 1378.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The idea of moving round and round runs through the verb's senses: to roll or trundle (1440), to pass a drinking cup round a company (about 1570), and to sing a song in the manner of a round or catch, and so in a full, rolling voice (1574 in the OED, 1575 in Barnhart).^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Johnson (1755) defined it "to move circularly; to drive about" and "to roll; to run round".^(Johnson 1755) To fish by drawing a bait or lure through the water, especially behind a moving boat, is recorded from about 1600 (1606 in Barnhart),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and the figurative sense "to lure, entice" from the 1560s.^(Etymonline) The noun, formed on the verb, meant a small wheel or a reel on a fishing rod from 1570,^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) the method of fishing from 1682, the lure from 1801, and a song sung in parts from 1820.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) In 1967 ''troll'' was recorded in homosexual slang for cruising in search of a sexual partner,^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) and since 1990 the noun has also meant a thorough search, like ''trawl''.^(OED 2026) The internet verb, to post provocative messages to an online forum or person, is recorded from 1992;^(OED 2026) it may be a use of the noun ''troll'', or a development of this verb, comparing the poster to an angler trailing bait.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) In Cornwall ''troll'' also meant to twist or sprain the foot, and in Norfolk to tire with walking.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1400 – to stroll, wander (before 1387 in Barnhart).^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1440 – to roll, trundle.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1560s – to lure, entice.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1570 – noun, a little wheel or reel.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1570 – to pass a drinking vessel round.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1574 – to sing heartily.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1600 – to fish with a trailing line.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1682 – noun, fishing by trolling.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1820 – noun, a song sung in parts.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1967 – to cruise for a sexual partner.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1992 – to post provocative messages online.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[fish]] by drawing a baited line or [[lure]] through the water, especially behind a slowly moving boat.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To post deliberately provocative messages to a person or forum online.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # (British, informal) To [[stroll]] or [[saunter]]: ''We trolled down to the pub after dinner.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (slang) To cruise about in search of a sexual partner.^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To search thoroughly; to [[trawl]].^(OED 2026)

+ # (archaic) To sing a song heartily, or in the parts of a round.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To roll or turn round and round.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of trolling for fish.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # A lure, or a line and lure, used in trolling.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # A song sung in parts in succession; a [[round]] or [[catch]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[troller]]

+ * [[trolling]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[trolley]]

+ * [[trawl]]

+ * [[trail]]

+ * [[trollop]]

+ * [[trow]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}