troll¹ / trōl/ • n. a mythical, cave-dwelling being depicted in folklore as either a giant or a dwarf, typically having a very ugly appearance.troll² • v. [intr.] 1. fish by trailing a baited line along behind a boat: we trolled for mackerel. ∎  search for something: a group of companies trolling for partnership opportunities.2. [tr.] sing (something) in a happy and carefree way: troll the ancient Yuletide carol.3. [tr.] inf. Comput. send (an e-mail message or posting on the Internet) intended to provoke a response from the reader by containing errors.4. chiefly Brit. walk; stroll: we all trolled into town.• n. 1. the action of trolling for fish. ∎  a line or bait used in such fishing.2. inf. Comput. an e-mail message or posting on the Internet intended to provoke an indignant response in the reader.DERIVATIVES: troll·er n.

Troll ★½ 1986 (PG-13)

A malevolent troll haunts an apartment building and possesses a young girl in hopes of turning all humans into trolls. Sometimes imaginative, sometimes embarrassing. Followed by a sequel. 86m/C VHS, DVD . Noah Hathaway, Gary Sandy, Anne Lockhart, Sonny Bono, Shelley Hack, June Lockhart, Michael Moriarty, Jennifer Beck, Phil Fondacaro, Brad Hall, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Albert Band, Charles Band; D: John Carl Buechler; W: Ed Naha; C: Romano Albani; M: Richard Band.

troll1 a mythical, cave-dwelling being depicted in folklore as either a giant or a dwarf, typically having a very ugly appearance. The word was adopted in English from Scandinavian in the middle of the 19th century, but in Shetland and Orkney, where the form is now trow, it has survived from the Norse dialect formerly spoken there.

troll2 send (an e-mail message or posting on the Internet) intended to provoke a response from the reader by containing errors. The word is a figurative use of the verb troll ‘fish by trailing a baited line along behind a boat’.

troll1 †
A. † move about or to and fro XIV;
B. roll, bowl XV;

C. sing in full round voice XVI;

D. angle with a running line XVII. of unkn. orig.; cf. F. trôler (†troller) wander casually, (M)HG. trollen stroll, toddle.