Does anybody Know...
 

The difference between an orc and a goblin? I was always thinking that they're the same thing, but im not sure at all! Somebody please help!

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(PS> the answer is yes [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] )

There have been many many many threads about this before. I myself have asked this very question. There is no difference. They are the same. Tolkien called them goblins in The Hobbit because it was supposed to be a children's book. Goblins were known before he created Middle-earth. THen, Tolkien had no intention of creating a whole world with an intricate history and fully developed characters. So, when he made The Lord of the Rongs, he used orcs. Orcs were invented by Tolkien, and to show this, he made their own name (orcs). Now, they were his own creation. Now do you understand? I might have been a little confusing. But, ths thread will be closed soon, I'm sure. And using the search function can help a lot.

Willie, I agree with you for the most part, but I think goblins and orc were different. The goblins seem to be smaller(at least in the movies) than regular orcs. They were more cave dwellers. But they are very much the same. Saruman made the Uruk-Hai by cross-breeding Orcs and Goblin men. I'm not sure, but how can you get an entire breed of new orcs by using the same breeds to breed them? There's a difference, but I don't think that it's very big.

In real life, there are different races of people, perhaps that is the case for orcs and goblins. They are the same "species", but of a different sub-race. Anyway, that's my speculation.

I based what I said based on the books. Just leave the movies out of it.