troll
     n 1: (Scandanavian folklore) a supernatural creature (either a
          dwarf or a giant) that is supposed to live in caves or
          in the mountains
     2: a partsong in which voices follow each other; one voice
        starts and others join in one after another until all are
        singing different parts of the song at the same time;
        "they enjoyed singing rounds" [syn: {round}]
     3: a fisherman's lure that is used in trolling; "he used a
        spinner as his troll"
     4: angling by drawing a baited line through the water [syn: {trolling}]
     v 1: circulate, move around
     2: cause to move round and round; "The child trolled her hoop"
     3: sing the parts of (a round) in succession
     4: angle with a hook and line drawn through the water
     5: sing loudly and without inhibition
     6: praise or celebrate in song; "All tongues shall troll you"
     7: speak or recite rapidly or in a rolling voice
Source: WordNet® 2.0

troll 1. v.,n. [From the Usenet group alt.folklore.urban] To utter a
   posting on {Usenet} designed to attract predictable responses or
   {flame}s; or, the post itself. Derives from the phrase "trolling for
   {newbie}s" which in turn comes from mainstream "trolling", a style of
   fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a
   bite. The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies
   and flamers to make themselves look even more clueless than they already
   do, while subtly conveying to the more savvy and experienced that it is
   in fact a deliberate troll. If you don't fall for the joke, you get to
   be in on it. See also {YHBT}. 2. n. An individual who chronically trolls
   in sense 1; regularly posts specious arguments, flames or personal
   attacks to a newsgroup, discussion list, or in email for no other
   purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a discussion. Trolls are
   recognizable by the fact that they have no real interest in learning
   about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame bait. Like the
   ugly creatures they are named after, they exhibit no redeeming
   characteristics, and as such, they are recognized as a lower form of
   life on the net, as in, "Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll." Compare
   {kook}. 3. n. [Berkeley] Computer lab monitor. A popular campus job for
   CS students. Duties include helping newbies and ensuring that lab
   policies are followed. Probably so-called because it involves lurking in
   dark cavelike corners.

   Some people claim that the troll (sense 1) is properly a narrower
   category than {flame bait}, that a troll is categorized by containing
   some assertion that is wrong but not overtly controversial. See also
   {Troll-O-Meter}.

   The use of `troll' in either sense is a live metaphor that readily
   produces elaborations and combining forms. For example, one not
   infrequently sees the warning "Do not feed the troll" as part of a
   followup to troll postings.


Source: The Jargon File