ogre
UK /ˈəʊ.ɡə/ · US /ˈoʊ.ɡɚ/ noun, proper noun
Forms ogres
- noun (mythology, folklore) A large, grotesque, brutish humanoid monster, typically marked by great strength and a propensity to kill or devour humans.
- noun (figuratively) A cruel person. “People are going to think I'm an ogre if I refuse to buy coffee for my little brother!”
- proper noun A city in central Latvia.
Synonyms
Etymology
First attested in the 18th century, borrowed from French ogre, from Latin Orcus (“god of the underworld”), from Ancient Greek Ὅρκος (Hórkos), the personified demon of oaths (ὅρκος (hórkos, “oath”)) who inflicts punishment upon oath-breakers. Doublet of orc and Orcus.
Borrowed from Latvian Ogre.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An imaginary monster, or hideous giant of fairy tales, who lived on human beings; hence, any frightful giant; a cruel monster.
Etymology [F., fr. Sp. ogro, fr. L. Orcus the god of the infernal regions; also, the lower world, hell.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “ogre”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details