Orcneas are a fictional species mentioned in Beowulf.
Description[]
Orcneas are cited as relatives of Ogres and Elves. The term is recorded nowhere else, and there are two interpretations of it.
Ghouls[]
The first etymology for 'orcneas' is that it is a portmanteau of "Orc" and "neas", meaning corpse. This would define the Orcneas as some kind of undead monsters, possibly similar to some versions of Ghouls.
Sea Monsters[]
However, another etymology ties it to 'orcen', another Old English world that appears to design a sea monster of some kind.
Trivia[]
If the first interpretation is indeed correct, Orcneas are the first recorded version of Orcs in written material.