Black Uruks

Uruk-hai is a Black Speech term meaning "Orc-folk." The word "Uruk" can refer generically to any Orc, but there are certain larger, stronger breeds of Orc that are specifically referred to as "Uruks." The term "Uruk-hai" was most notably used by the Uruks of Saruman's army to describe themselves during the War of the Ring.

Characteristics

Four dead Uruk-hai in the employ of Orthanc that lay near Boromir had a greater stature than the surrounding dead Orcs. They were swart, slant-eyed, and had thick legs and large hands. An " S" elf-rune was wrought in white metal on the front of their iron helms. Aragorn guessed that this "S" stood for Saruman, as their shields were emblazoned with a small White Hand in the centre of a black field. This stood out in contrast to the Orcs in the service of Barad-dûr, the folk of Mordor, who used the symbol of the Red Eye of Sauron. Aragorn commented that the four dead Uruk-hai's gear " is not after the manner of Orcs at all." Instead of curved scimitars that were usually used by Orcs, they had short, broad-bladed swords. Their bows were made of yew wood, in length and shape as those of Men.

Usage of the word Uruk-hai among Orcs

Uglúk, the commander of a group of Orcs of Isengard, referred to the Orcs under his command as "the fighting Uruk-hai" when he argued with Grishnákh, an Orc of Mordor, about the fate of the captive Hobbits, Merry and Pippin. He also used the phrase "fighting Uruk-hai" when he ordered a group of Orcs from the north to leave the two Hobbits with him when the northern Orcs wished to flee from the riders of the Rohirrim. He later referred to the Orcs under his command as "the Uruk-hai of Isengard" when he talked to Grishnákh after Grishnákh's group had returned. Later, during the Battle of the Hornburg, the Orcs of Isengard gathered before the great gates of the Hornburg and referred to themselves twice as "the fighting Uruk-hai" and once simply as "the Uruk-hai" when Aragorn spoke to them from above the gates.

A large soldier Orc of Mordor bearing the token of the Eye told a small tracker Orc from Mordor that those "Higher Up" had eventually said that it must be "a pack of rebel Uruk-hai" whose scent they were following when they were tracking Frodo and Sam after their escape from the Tower of Cirith Ungol.