Well, actually...

In the Internet sense of the word, the trolls in question live under bridges and spring out to surprise those who would cross with unpleasant demands and behaviour. Not cave-dwellers at all.

——

Hey, this is Hacker News, if we can't bikeshed the etymology of "troll," what use is this medium?

The internet sense comes from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolling_(fishing) rather than the bridge dwellers.

“Trolling is a method of fishing where one or more fishing lines, baited with lures or bait fish, are drawn through the water.”

I recall this exact discussion happening at various times over the last few decades.

I agree that the verb comes from fishing, but with respect to fishing, nobody calls a person who trolls, a "troll." If the noun came strictly from the fishing use of the word, the people engaged in trolling would be "Trollers," not "Trolls."

I think both etymologies are in play, one for the verb, another for the noun. It could have been that it began with the verb, and somebody punned "Is someone who trolls, a troll?" and that stuck.

But what makes the noun work is very definitely the association with the mythological trolls who are unhelpful to humans.

Well huh, I've been online since, um, 300bps dial up BBS's, and this is entirely new to me.

Apparently I've been living in a cave. :)

This is my understanding, but it appears we're not correct. A cave dweller is a troglodyte, but a troll is not specifically a monster under a bridge. In fact, an old English term for walking is to troll [0]. It would appear that this is where the terms stroll and trolley come from.

[0] https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/troll

[1] https://www.etymonline.com/word/troll

A troll is not specifically the monster under the bridge, no. The troll under the bridge is from one fairy tale about trolls, and I find that the closest use of troll to what Internet Trolls do.

But no, trolls in general do not live under bridges. Agreed.

> In the Internet sense of the word

But that's not the original meaning :)

It depends on "how original," stories about trolls under bridges go back a long way, but if we go WAY back, we get the word applyimng to many different mythical creatures:

"The term is used to denote various beings, such as a jötunn or mountain-dweller, a witch, an abnormally strong or large or ugly person, an evil spirit, a ghost, a blámaðr, a magical boar, a heathen demi-god, a demon, a brunnmigi, or a berserker."

I think that over time, and thanks to various "fairy tales," we have settled on Trolls as he mountain/riock/cave-dwellers who are turned to stone if exposed to sunlight.

Sadly, the Internet Troll multiplies when given attention. Sunlight does not disinfect social media.