The Old English word meaning “giant” that inspired Tolkien’s term Ent is ent.
In Old English, ent is a word related to a giant or other powerful supernatural being. Tolkien encountered the word in historical texts, including the language of Beowulf, and used it for the tree shepherds of Middle-earth. The Ents are ancient, thinking beings who protect forests and resemble enormous walking trees.
Their name illustrates Tolkien’s method of turning historical language into imaginative mythology. The Ents are not simply ordinary trees that have come alive; they have their own language, memories and political concerns. Treebeard, the oldest and most prominent Ent in The Lord of the Rings, tells Merry and Pippin about the long decline of his people and the loss of the Entwives. The Ents’ attack on Isengard is one of the story’s major turning points. The word is sometimes explained only as Tolkien’s invention, but its older Germanic linguistic background is firmly documented.