What is "troll"

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.

Troll flower. (Bot.) Same as Globeflower (a) .

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 trotler, fr. F. trotter to trot (cf. Trot.). Cf. Trawl.]

1. To move circularly or volubly; to roll; to turn.

   To dress and troll the tongue, and roll the eye.
   --Milton.

2. To send about; to circulate, as a vessel in drinking.

   Then doth she troll to the bowl.
   --Gammer Gurton's Needle.

   Troll the brown bowl.
   --Sir W. Scott.

3. To sing the parts of in succession, as of a round, a catch, and the like; also, to sing loudly or freely.

   Will you troll the catch ?
   --Shak.

   His sonnets charmed the attentive crowd, By wide-mouthed mortaltrolled aloud.
   --Hudibras.

4. To angle for with a trolling line, or with a book drawn along the surface of the water; hence, to allure.

5. To fish in; to seek to catch fish from.

   With patient angle trolls the finny deep.
   --Goldsmith.

Troll \Troll\, v. i.

1. To roll; to run about; to move around; as, to troll in a coach and six.

2. To move rapidly; to wag.
   --F. Beaumont.

3. To take part in trolling a song.

4. To fish with a rod whose line runs on a reel; also, to fish by drawing the hook through the water.

   Their young men . . . trolled along the brooks that abounded in fish.
   --Bancroft.

Troll \Troll\, n.

1. The act of moving round; routine; repetition.
   --Burke.

2. A song the parts of which are sung in succession; a catch; a round.

   Thence the catch and troll, while ``Laughter, holding both his sides,'' sheds tears to song and ballad pathetic on the woes of married life.
   --Prof. Wilson.

3. A trolley.

   Troll plate (Mach.), a rotative disk with spiral ribs or grooves, by which several pieces, as the jaws of a chuck, can be brought together or spread radially.

"act of going round, repetition," 1705, from troll (v.). Meaning "song sung in a round" is from 1820.

late 14c., "to go about, stroll," later (early 15c.) "roll from side to side, trundle," probably from Old French troller, a hunting term, "wander, to go in quest of game without purpose" (Modern French trôler), from a Germanic source (compare Old High German trollen "to walk with short steps"), from Proto-Germanic *truzlanan.\n

\nSense of "sing in a full, rolling voice" (first attested 1570s) and that of "fish with a moving line" (c.1600) both are extended technical uses from the general sense of "roll, trundle," the former from "sing in the manner of a catch or round," the latter perhaps confused with trail or trawl. Figurative sense of "to lure 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.

supernatural being in Scandinavian mythology and folklore, 1610s (with an isolated use mid-14c.), from Old Norse troll "giant being not of the human race, evil spirit, monster." Some speculate that it originally meant "creature that walks clumsily," and derives from Proto-Germanic *truzlan, from *truzlanan (see troll (v.)). But it seems to have been a general supernatural word, such as Swedish trolla "to charm, bewitch;" Old Norse trolldomr "witchcraft."\n

\nThe 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 literary English by 19c. antiquarians, but it has been current in the Shetlands and Orkneys since Viking times. The first record of the word in modern English 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."\n

\nOriginally conceived as a race of malevolent giants, they have suffered the same fate as the Celtic Danann and by 19c. were regarded by peasants in in Denmark and Sweden as dwarfs and imps supposed to live in caves or under the ground.\n\nThey are obliging and neighbourly; freely lending and borrowing, and elsewise keeping up a friendly intercourse with mankind. But they have a sad propensity to thieving, not only stealing provisions, but even women and children.

[Thomas Keightley, "The Fairy Mythology," London, 1850]

Etymology 1 n. (context fantasy English) A supernatural being of varying size, now especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges. (from early 17th c.) Etymology 2

n. 1 An instance of trolling, especially, in fishing, the trailing of a baited line. (from circa 1600) 2 (context colloquial English) A person who provokes others (chiefly on the Internet) for their own personal amusement or to cause disruption. (from late 20th c.) vb. 1 (context intransitive English) To saunter. (from late 14th c.) 2 (context intransitive English) To trundle, to roll from side to side. (from early 15th c.) 3 (context transitive figuratively English) To draw someone or something out, to entice, to lure as if with trailing bait. (from the 1500s) 4 (context intransitive fishing by extension English) To fish using a line and bait or lures trailed behind a boat similarly to trawling; to lure fish with bait. (from circa 1600) 5 (context transitive English) To angle for with a trolling line, or with a hook drawn along the surface of the water; hence, to allure. 6 (context transitive English) To fish in; to try to catch fish from. 7 (context slang intransitive English) To stroll about in order to find a sexual partner, to cruise#Verb (qualifier: originally homosexual slang). (from 20th c.) 8 (context intransitive internet slang English) (to post inflammatory material so as) to attempt to lure others into combative argument for purposes of personal entertainment and/or gratuitous disruption, especially in an online community or discussion (from late 20th c.) 9 (context transitive internet slang English) By extension, to incite anger (including outside of an internet context); to provoke, harass or annoy. Etymology 3

n. 1 The act of moving round; routine; repetition. 2 A song whose parts are sung in succession; a catch; a round. 3 (context obsolete English) A trolley. vb. 1 (context transitive intransitive obsolete English) To move circularly; to roll; to turn. (from the 15th c.) 2 (context transitive obsolete English) To send about; to circulate, as a vessel in drinking. 3 (context transitive intransitive archaic English) To sing the parts of in succession, as of a round, a catch, and the like; also, to sing loudly, freely or in a carefree way. (from the 16th c.)

1. n. (Scandanavian folklore) a supernatural creature (either a dwarf or a giant) that is supposed to live in caves or in the mountains

2. a partsong in which voices follow each other; one voice starts and others join in one after another until all are singing different parts of the song at the same time; "they enjoyed singing rounds" [syn: round]

3. a fisherman's lure that is used in trolling; "he used a spinner as his troll"

4. angling by drawing a baited line through the water [syn: trolling]

1. v. circulate, move around

2. cause to move round and round; "The child trolled her hoop"

3. sing the parts of (a round) in succession

4. angle with a hook and line drawn through the water

5. sing loudly and without inhibition

6. praise or celebrate in song; "All tongues shall troll you"

7. speak or recite rapidly or in a rolling voice

A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, troll may have been a negative synonym for a jötunn (plural jötnar). In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings.

Later, in Scandinavian folklore, trolls became beings in their own right, where they live far from human habitation, are not Christianized, and are considered dangerous to human beings. Depending on the region from which accounts of trolls stem, their appearance varies greatly; trolls may be ugly and slow-witted, or look and behave exactly like human beings, with no particularly grotesque characteristic about them.

Trolls are sometimes associated with particular landmarks, which at times may be explained as formed from a troll exposed to sunlight. Trolls are depicted in a variety of media in modern popular culture.

Troll is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band.

A troll is a mythological creature.

Troll may also refer to:

Trolls in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, unlike the monstrous trolls of folklore and J. R. R. Tolkien, have been subverted into a moderately civilised race. Trolls on the Discworld are, essentially, living, mobile rocks. Trolls have grown to overcome those vicious stereotypes of yore and have lived very prosperous lives in heavily populated cities with (relatively) little killing, and they have held jobs as diverse as police officer and concert promoter. They have also held jobs as "bridgekeepers," collecting tolls from those that cross their bridges. It is relatively harmless, although farmers in the company of billy goats have to pay a hefty toll.

1. Redirect Troll (Middle-earth)

The Troll was a small car made by Troll Plastik & Bilindustri of Lunde, Norway, from 1956 to 1958. It was one of few attempts at car production in Norway, but only five cars were ever built.

Trolls are fictional monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.

Troll is a 1986 cult dark comedy fantasy film directed by John Carl Buechler and produced by Charles Band of Empire Pictures, starring Noah Hathaway, Michael Moriarty, Shelley Hack, Jenny Beck, and Sonny Bono. The film was shot in Italy in the Stabilimenti Cinematografici Pontini studios near Rome. It is unrelated to Troll 2 and Troll 3.

Trolls are mythical creatures found in Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe.

Troll is the second full-length album by the Norwegian folk metal band Lumsk. It was released on June 6, 2005 by Tabu Recordings. The songs tell different stories about trolls and spirits in Norwegian folklore.

Bartholemew J. Troll is a fictional character created by Rob Liefeld. Troll first appeared in the Youngblood series of comics as a member of the superhero team.

Troll is a research station located at Jutulsessen, from the coast in the eastern part of Princess Martha Coast in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. It is Norway's only all-year research station in Antarctica, and is supplemented by the summer-only station Tor. Troll is operated by the Norwegian Polar Institute and also features facilities for the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, the Norwegian Institute for Air Research.

Contrary to most other research stations on the continent, Troll is constructed on the snow-free slope of solid rock breaking through the ice sheet at Jutulsessen, located above mean sea level. The station opened as a summer-only station in 1990 and was taken into use as an all-year station in 2005. It has an overwintering capacity of eight people and a summer capacity of 40. It is served by Troll Airfield, which is the base for the Dronning Maud Land Air Network.

Troll and trolling are slang terms used almost exclusively amongst gay men to characterize gay, bisexual and questioning or bi-curious men who cruise or "wander about looking" for sex or potential sex partners or experiences "in a notably wanton manner and with lessened standards of what one will accept in a partner." The term can be used positively or negatively depending on the speaker, usage and intent and can describe the person or the activity. Although often referring to "an unattractive older gay man" and although troll as a slur "is primarily a visual, not a behavioral" judgment, the phrases can be used for anyone who is trolling regardless of the putative troll's age or perceived attractiveness.

Troll is a Swedish band most noted for the single " Jimmy Dean". First band name was Trollrock because they dressed up as Trolls on stage.

Band members Annika Larsson, Helena Caspersson, Erica Bergman, Nina Norberg, Petra Norén Dahl, Jenny Jons and Monica Blom were childhood friends from Falun.

Troll (Gunna Sijurvald) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.