The Old English word appearing as “orcneas” in the Beowulf manuscript is a source associated with Tolkien’s orcs.
In the poem, the word occurs in a passage describing the monstrous descendants of Cain. Tolkien was a specialist in Old English and knew the Beowulf text closely, so terms from that tradition contributed to the vocabulary and atmosphere of his fiction.
Tolkien’s orcs are not simply identical to the creatures of Beowulf. He developed them across drafts and published works, using several related terms and presenting different ideas about their origin. The Old English connection helps explain the word’s historical resonance, but it does not provide a complete one-to-one definition of Tolkien’s fictional species.
This fact is often confused with the modern English word “orc,” which Tolkien helped popularize in fantasy. The Beowulf form is an Old English manuscript reading, while Tolkien’s orcs belong to the mythology of Arda.