Orc

An orc /ɔːrk/[1] is a fictional humanoid monster akin to a goblin.

Orcs have been, alongside Dragons, the great antagonists, or the cannon fodder, in many fantasy series for a long time. Orcs have even inspired some “Sci-Fi Versions” of them on the run.

   "Orkses is neva defeated in battle. If we win we win, if we die we die fightin' so it don't count. If we runz for it we don't lose eva, cos we can come back for annuver go, see!"
   — Common Ork saying

Etymology

   "The word as far as I am concerned actually derived from Old English orc, demon, but only because of its phonetic suitability."
   ― J.R.R. Tolkien in Letter 144 

Subraces and Related Races

Montain Orcs

This is very likely to be the most common subrace of Orc and can be found throughout Faerûn, as they travel along the montain ranges from the Spine of the World in the far north. Mountain Orcs are the first historicaly accounted for race of orc.

Ogrillons

Offspring of the breeding between Orcs and Ogres.

Warcraft’s Orc

   “Thok go through shiny hole. Then me fall down, but me good. Me find many good things to eat. We find village. We mash them and eat their food. Thok stop now. Head hurt from write.”
   ― Warcraft: Orcs & Humans Manual, p.17

Warhammer’s Ork

   "The Orks are the pinnacle of creation. For them, the great struggle is won. They have evolved a society which knows no stress or angst. Who are we to judge them? We Aeldari who have failed, or the humans, on the road to ruin in their turn? And why? Because we sought answers to questions that an Ork wouldn't even bother to ask! We see a culture that is strong and despise it as crude."
       — Uthan the Perverse, Aeldari Philosopher

In the Warhammer 40k universe the Orks are a biologically-engineered species, created more than 60 million Terran years ago as a warrior race originally called the Krork by the long-vanished reptilian alien species known as the Old Ones, whom the Orks refer to as the Brain Boyz, to fight the Necrons and their C'tan masters in the great interstellar conflict called the War in Heaven

  "Of all the races I have battled throughout the galaxy, the Ork is the hardest to comprehend. They wage war with machines that should not work, care little for strategic gains, and are just as likely to slaughter each other as the enemy. How does one battle an enemy that defies all logic?"
   — Rogue Trader Varnael Larik