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Also worth noting is that Tolkien adapted the word 'orc' from the Old English word 'orc' (meaning 'demon'). Tolkien also said that orcs "owe a good deal to the goblin tradition, especially as it appears in George MacDonald" (author of "The Princess and the Goblin", first published in 1872).
Some more interesting reading here:
The above article also includes a rather appropriate quote from fantasy critic Terence Casey, in which he says: "Someone who's familiar with fantasy isn't generally going to have a problem with "orcs" being in a novel or game - they know what an orc is and are used to it. If you start making up your own monsters instead of drawing from "generic fantasy", however, the mere newness of them can make it harder for people to suspend their disbelief."
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