trolls

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troll /trol/
intransitive verb
1. To fish for by trailing a baited line from behind a slowly moving boat.
2. To fish in by trailing a baited line.
   "troll the lake for bass."
3. To trail (a baited line) in fishing.
The American Heritage(r) Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition *
More at Wordnik
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old
Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks,
mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely
helpful to human beings.
In later 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 source, 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.
In Scandinavian folklore, trolls are sometimes associated with particular
landmarks (sometimes said to have been formed by a troll having been
exposed to sunlight). Trolls are depicted in a variety of media in modern
popular culture.
Etymology
The Old Norse nouns troll and troll (variously meaning "fiend, demon,
werewolf, jotunn") and Middle High German troll, trolle "fiend" (according
to philologist Vladimir Orel, the word is likely borrowed from Old Norse),
possibly developed from Proto-Germanic neuter noun *trullan, meaning "to
tread, step on". The origin of the Proto-Germanic word is unknown.[1]
Additionally, the Old Norse verb trylla 'to enchant, to turn into a troll'
and the Middle High German verb trullen "to flutter" both developed from
the Proto-Germanic verb *trulljanan, a derivative of *trullan.[1]
Norse mythology
In Norse mythology, troll, like thurs, is a term applied to jotnar and is
mentioned throughout the Old Norse corpus. In Old Norse sources, trolls
are said to dwell in isolated mountains, rocks, and caves, sometimes live
together (usually as father-and-daughter or mother-and-son), and are
rarely described as helpful or friendly.[2] The Prose Edda book
Skaldskaparmal describes an encounter between an unnamed troll woman and
the 9th-century skald Bragi Boddason. According to the section, Bragi was
driving through "a certain forest" late one evening when a troll woman
aggressively asked him who he was, in the process describing herself:
Old Norse:...[3]
Anthony Faulkes translation:
'Trolls call me moon of dwelling-Rungnir, giant's wealth-sucker, storm-
 sun's bale, seeress's friendly companion, guardian of corpse-fiord,
 swallower of heaven-wheel; what is a troll other than that?'[4]
John Lindow translation:
 They call me a troll, moon of the earth-Hrungnir [?] wealth sucker [?]
 of the giant, destroyer of the storm-sun [?] beloved follower of the
 seeress, guardian of the "nafjord" [?] swallower of the wheel of heaven
 [the sun]. What's a troll if not that?[3]
Bragi responds in turn, describing himself and his abilities as a skillful
skald, before the scenario ends.[4]
There is much confusion and overlap in the use of Old Norse terms jotunn,
troll, burs, and risi, which describe various beings. Lotte Motz theorized
that these were originally four distinct classes of beings: lords of
nature (jotunn), mythical magicians (troll), hostile monsters (burs), and
heroic and courtly beings (risi), the last class being the youngest
addition. On the other hand, Armann Jakobson is critical of Motz's
interpretation and calls this theory "unsupported by any convincing
evidence".[5] Armann highlights that the term is used to denote various
beings, such as a jotunn or mountain-dweller, a witch, an abnormally
strong or large or ugly person, an evil spirit, a ghost, a blamadr, a
magical boar, a heathen demi-god, a demon, a brunnmigi, or a berserker.
[6][7]
Scandinavian folklore
Later in Scandinavian folklore, trolls become defined as a particular
type of being.[8] Numerous tales are recorded about trolls in which they
are frequently described as being extremely old, very strong, but slow and
dim-witted, and are at times described as man-eaters and as turning to
stone upon contact with sunlight.[9] However, trolls are also attested as
looking much the same as human beings, without any particularly hideous
appearance about them, but living far away from human habitation and
generally having "some form of social organization"--unlike the ra and
nack, who are attested as "solitary beings". According to John Lindow,
what sets them apart is that they are not Christian, and those who
encounter them do not know them. Therefore, trolls were in the end
dangerous, regardless of how well they might get along with Christian
society, and trolls display a habit of bergtagning ('kidnapping';
literally "mountain-taking") and overrunning a farm or estate.[10]
Lindow states that the etymology of the word "troll" remains uncertain,
though he defines trolls in later Swedish folklore as "nature beings" and
as "all-purpose otherworldly being[s], equivalent, for example, to
fairies in Anglo-Celtic traditions". They "therefore appear in various
migratory legends where collective nature-beings are called for". Lindow
notes that trolls are sometimes swapped out for cats and "little people"
in the folklore record.[10]
A Scandinavian folk belief that lightning frightens away trolls and
jotnar appears in numerous Scandinavian folktales, and may be a late
reflection of the god Thor's role in fighting such beings. In connection,
the lack of trolls and jotnar in modern Scandinavia is sometimes
explained as a result of the "accuracy and efficiency of the lightning
strokes".[11] Additionally, the absence of trolls in regions of
Scandinavia is described in folklore as being a "consequence of the
constant din of the church-bells". This ringing caused the trolls to
leave for other lands, although not without some resistance; numerous
traditions relate how trolls destroyed a church under construction or
hurled boulders and stones at completed churches. Large local stones are
sometimes described as the product of a troll's toss.[12] Additionally,
into the 20th century, the origins of particular Scandinavian landmarks,
such as particular stones, are ascribed to trolls who may, for example,
have turned to stone upon exposure to sunlight.[9]
Lindow compares the trolls of the Swedish folk tradition to Grendel, the
supernatural mead hall invader in the Old English poem Beowulf, and notes
that "just as the poem Beowulf emphasizes not the harrying of Grendel but
the cleansing of the hall of Beowulf, so the modern tales stress the
moment when the trolls are driven off."[10]
Smaller trolls are attested as living in burial mounds and in mountains
in Scandinavian folk tradition.[13] In Denmark, these creatures are
recorded as troldfolk ("troll-folk"), bjergtrolde ("mountain-trolls"), or
bjergfolk ("mountain-folk") and in Norway also as trollfolk[14] ("troll-
folk") and tusser.[13] Trolls may be described as small, human-like
beings or as tall as men depending on the region of origin of the story.
[15]
In Norwegian tradition, similar tales may be told about the larger trolls
and the Huldrefolk ("hidden-folk"), yet a distinction is made between the
two. The use of the word trow in Orkney and Shetland, to mean beings
which are very like the Huldrefolk in Norway, may suggest a common origin
for the terms. The word troll may have been used by pagan Norse settlers
in Orkney and Shetland as a collective term for supernatural beings who
should be respected and avoided rather than worshipped. Troll could later
have become specialized as a description of the larger, more menacing
Jotunn-kind whereas Huldrefolk may have developed as the term for smaller
trolls.[16]
John Arnott MacCulloch posited a connection between the Old Norse vaettir
and trolls, suggesting that both concepts may derive from spirits of the
dead.[17]
Troll, a Norwegian research station in Antarctica, is so named because of
the rugged mountains which stand around that place like trolls. It
includes a ground station which tracks satellites in polar orbit.
In popular culture
Trolls have appeared in many works of modern fiction, most often in the
fantasy genre, with classic examples being the portrayal of trolls in
works such as in Tolkien's Middle-earth[18] or the Dungeons & Dragons
roleplaying game.[19][20]
Beginning in the 1950s, Troll dolls were a popular toy based on the
folklore creature. Trolls based on the dolls appeared in the Hollywood
animated movie Trolls (2016) and its subsequent sequels Trolls World Tour
(2020), and Trolls Band Together (2023).
Troll[21] is the name, and main antagonist, of a 2022 Norwegian movie
released by Netflix on December 1, 2022.
Rolf Lidberg was a Swedish artist well known for his troll illustrations.
The Danish artist Thomas Dambo has created from recycled wood a series of
monumental troll sculptures that can be seen in several botanic gardens
and similar installations.
Other
It has been hypothesized that the troll myth might have its origin in
real-life interactions between anatomically modern humans and
Neanderthals.[22][23]