Beowulf inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s use of the word “orc.”
Tolkien was a professional philologist who studied Old English closely, and his Middle-earth vocabulary often draws on earlier languages and literature. In Beowulf, the Old English word orc-neas appears in a list of monstrous beings descended from Cain. Tolkien adapted related forms into “Orc” for the humanoid servants of the Dark Lords.
In The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Orcs are enemies serving powers such as Sauron and Saruman. Tolkien also used “Goblin” in many contexts, and the two terms overlap in his fiction; this has led to questions about whether they describe separate species. In The Lord of the Rings, “Orc” is generally the preferred term.
The word is therefore not an arbitrary modern invention. It connects Tolkien’s fantasy creatures to the vocabulary and monster traditions of early English literature.