troll

Etymology 1

From Norwegian or Swedish troll or Danish trold, from Old Norse trǫll (“witch, mage, conjurer”) (compare Icelandic tröll), related to Middle High German trolle (“spook, wraith, monster, ogre”). From Proto-Germanic *truzlą (“a supernatural being; demon; fiend; giant; monster”). Norwegian fortrylle (“to bewitch”), Danish fortrylle (“to bewitch”), Norwegian and Danish trylle (“to conjure”) and Swedish trolla (“to conjure”). Doublet of droll.

noun

1. (fantasy) A supernatural being of varying size, now especially a grotesque humanoid creature living in caves or hills or under bridges.
   He followed their advice, and rode through a rye-field, where the Trolls were unable to follow him, but in their exasperation cried after him, "The red cock shall crow over thy dwelling." And behold! his house stood in a blaze. 1851, Benjamin Thorpe, Northern Mythology, volume II, page 7
   "Will you have a sausage, pussy?" said one of the trolls, and threw a hot frog right into the bear's jaw. 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 150
   In these manuscripts we are again in an atmosphere of eotens and trolls, there are traces of even older terrors, when the first Teuton settlers in Europe struggled with the aborigines who lived in caves[.] 1922, Eleanour Sinclair Rohde, The Old English Herbals, page 3
   The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll. 2013-06-08, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55
2. (slang) An ugly person of either sex, especially one seeking sexual experiences.
   The way Torchie had talked about him, I expected him to be some kind of troll. But he could have passed for one of those actors who makes a couple of movies, gets real popular with the girls for a year or two, and then vanishes from sight. 2007, David Lubar, Hidden Talents
   In this work, the abject object - a sculpture of a fat, hairy woman - is heartbreakingly comforted by a text that claims the artist's love and desire to protect the 'ugly' troll. 2009, Judy Chicago, Sarah Quinton, Jenni Sorkin, When Women Rule the World: Judy Chicago in Thread
   She sulked as we returned downstairs, her own more colorful clothes stuffed into her bright green shoulder bag. “I just wish I didn't have to dress like such a troll.” 2010, Linda Francis Lee, The Devil in the Junior League
   Sharon had no desire to talk to Alora Magee, but she was happy to get out of her cell and away from that disgusting troll and her irritating voice. 2011, R.E. Donald, Ice on the Grapevine
   Edwin Baer was an ugly troll of a man. He stood just about five feet, six inches and maybe weighed 140 pounds soaking wet. 2012, James Classi, Heatseeker, page 26
   I liked one of the girls, Sarah, but her mate, the troll, was a total bitch from hell, probably because guys only fancied Sarah, so we hung out whilst the troll was obviously scheming how to steal my money. 2012, Thomas Appleby, Life in the Harsh Lane: The Nine Lives, Mishaps, and Adventures of a No-body, page 186
   So if you're hoping to get a fuck, you'll be out of luck, Hideous hag, You are an ugly troll, 2014, Rock Rampant, Mauve Flush, page 280
3. (astronomy, meteorology) Optical ejections from the top of the electrically active core regions of thunderstorms that are red in color that seem to occur after tendrils of vigorous sprites extend downward toward the cloud tops.

Etymology 2

From Middle English trollen (“to go about, stroll, roll from side to side”), from Old French troller (“to quest, to wander”) (French trôler), of Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *truzlōną (“to lumber”), which is probably related to *trudaną (“to tread, step on”). Related to Middle High German trollen (“to stroll”), Middle Low German drullen (“to stroll”). Fishing sense possibly influenced by trawl and/or trail; internet sense influenced by Etymology 1.

verb

1. (intransitive) To saunter.
2. (intransitive) To trundle, to roll from side to side.
3. (transitive, figurative) To draw someone or something out, to entice, to lure as if with trailing bait.
   It was necessary to troll them along two years with the hope of employing their usual methods, in order to get them to a place too far from their starting-point for retreat. 1906, Thomas William Lawson, “Fools and Their Money: Some After-Claps of Frenzied Finance”, in Everybody's Magazine, volume XIV, number 5, page 690
4. (intransitive, fishing, by extension) To fish using a line and bait or lures trailed behind a boat similarly to trawling; to lure fish with bait.
5. (transitive) To angle for with a trolling line, or with a hook drawn along the surface of the water; hence, to allure.
   My flies alone disturbed the placid waters. A half-grown-up lad, who was standing behind me on the bank, advised me to "troll with bait" — a cluster of worms fastened to the hook, which is dragged in jerks over the surface of the water — and offered to find the bait for me. 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 153
6. (transitive) To fish in; to try to catch fish from.
7. (slang, intransitive) To stroll about in order to find a sexual partner.
   He spends most of his waking hours trolling on WIRE.
8. (transitive, intransitive, originally Internet slang) To post or make inflammatory or insincere statements so as to attempt to lure others into combative argument for purposes of personal entertainment or to manipulate others' perception, especially in an online community or discussion.
   October 11 1993, “danny burstein”, “I trolled, and no one bit!”, in alt.folklore.urban (Usenet):

noun

1. An instance of trolling, especially, in fishing, the trailing of a baited line.
2. (originally Internet slang) A person who posts or says inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages to provoke others on the Internet for their own personal amusement.
   Coordinate term: griefer
   Katie Hopkins: My Fat Story 9pm, TLC. The professional troll and one-time Apprentice stirrer piles on the pounds in order to shed them in this two-part doc, which feels at times like an overly long This Morning item. 2014-12-19, “Friday 2 January's best TV”, in The Guardian
   From there, attacking people head-on — though almost always cloaked in anonymity — wasn’t a big leap. And so much more on the internet became like a game, only the score consisted of attention, outrage or approval from like-minded trolls. 2016-06-08, Quentin Hardy, “How Gaming Helped Launch the Attack of the Internet Trolls”, in New York Times
   It was the place you went, shrouded in anonymity, for pornography, hard-core racism, revenge porn, Nazi cheerleading, Jew-baiting, creepshots, fat-shaming, mindless anarchy and pictures of dead kids or of women who had been beaten. If anyone bothered to look, Reddit was proof that on the internet, the trolls were in charge. 2018-10-30, David Streitfeld, “Where Trolls Reigned Free: A New History of Reddit”, in New York Times
3. (by extension, politics) Someone who sows discord, promotes misinformation, or spreads propaganda in order to promote an agenda as part of an organized political compaign.

Etymology 3

From Middle English trollen, trollin (“to walk, wander”). Cognate with Low German trullen (“to troll”).

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive, obsolete) To move circularly; to roll; to turn.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To send about; to circulate, as a vessel in drinking.
   Then doth she troll to the bowl. c. 1553, author unknown, Gammer Gurton's Needle
3. (transitive, intransitive, archaic) 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.
   Troul the ancient Christmas carol. 1862, Thomas Oliphant, Nos Galan

noun

1. The act of moving round; routine; repetition.
2. A song whose parts 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. 1845, John Wilson, The genius and character of Burns
3. (obsolete) A trolley.