Orcs and Goblins!

[The Saucepan Man]

Although that quote, which I rediscovered myself recently, suggests that Orcs are a large variety of Goblin, I have always thought the converse to be the case: that Goblins are a small variety of Orc. I imagine that this results from a combination of coming across Goblins first (in reading the Hobbit) and the traditional portrayal of Goblins as short creatures (and, of course AD+D [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] ).

But it does make sense, in that the term most commonly used throughout JRRT's works is Orc. This suggests to me that Orc is a generic term used to describe different varieties of the same creature that have come about through cross-breeding, habitation of different environments etc (just as the term Man is used to describe different "varieties" of human: Numenorean, Druadan, Dunlending, Easterling etc).

So, I see Goblins as a small variety of Orc living in cave complexes in mountainous regions. Uruk-Hai, on the other hand, are a larger variety of Orc bred by Sauron (not Saruman as, thanks to the films, is now a quite common misconception) to be lean, mean (and more sun-resistant) fighting machines.