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ogre

 - 4 dictionary results

o⋅gre

  [oh-ger]
Use ogre in a Sentence
–noun
1. a monster in fairy tales and popular legend, usually represented as a hideous giant who feeds on human flesh.
2. a monstrously ugly, cruel, or barbarous person.
Origin:
1705–15; < F; perh. ≪ L Orcus Orcus

Related forms:
o⋅gre⋅ish  [oh-ger-ish] , o⋅grish  [oh-grish] , adjective
o⋅gre⋅ish⋅ly, o⋅grish⋅ly, adverb
o⋅gre⋅ism, ogrism, noun

Synonyms:
2. fiend, tyrant, despot.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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o·gre   (ō'gər)   
n.  

  1. A giant or monster in legends and fairy tales that eats humans.

  2. A person who is felt to be particularly cruel, brutish, or hideous.


[French, probably ultimately from Latin Orcus, god of the underworld.]
o'gre·ish (ō'gər-ĭsh, ō'grĭsh) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

ogre 
"man-eating giant," 1713, hogre (in a translation of a Fr. version of the Arabian Nights), from Fr. ogre, first used in Perrault's "Contes," 1697. and perhaps formed by him from It. orco "demon, monster," from L. Orcus "Hades," perhaps via an It. dialect. In Eng., more literary than colloquial. The conjecture that it is a from Byzantine Ogur "Hungarian" or some other version of that people's name (perhaps via confusion with the bloodthirsty Huns), lacks historical evidence.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

ogre

a hideous giant represented in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings. The word gained popularity from its use in the late 17th century by Charles Perrault, the author of Contes de ma mere l'oye (Tales of Mother Goose). Since then, ogres have appeared in many works, including "Tom Thumb"; "Hansel and Gretel," where the witch is a type of ogre because she intends to eat the children; and "Little Red Riding Hood," where the wolf resembles an ogre. The Cyclops of myth and heroic literature who devours humans is a form of ogre.

Learn more about ogre with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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