What does drow mean?
A drow is a creature of modern fantasy fiction: one of a race of dark elves imagined as living deep underground, away from sunlight. The concept was popularized by the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, where drow are depicted with dark skin and white hair and are generally portrayed as ruthless, matriarchal, and devoted to sinister deities. Because they originate in a specific fictional tradition rather than in historical myth or everyday speech, the word belongs almost exclusively to the vocabulary of fantasy literature, tabletop gaming, and video games. Within those settings, drow serve as iconic antagonists — stealthy, poisoned-weapon-wielding foes of the surface world — though individual renegades who reject their society's cruelty are also a recurring trope. The plural is usually left unchanged ('a band of drow'). For readers outside gaming culture, the word may be unfamiliar, but it is instantly recognizable to fans of the genre, where it carries strong connotations of danger, secrecy, and moral ambiguity.
nounIn modern fantasy fiction and role-playing games, a drow is a member of a fictional race of dark-skinned elves who dwell underground, typically portrayed as cunning and malevolent.
- A fictional race of dark-skinned, subterranean elves in fantasy fiction and role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, usually depicted as evil or treacherous.
"The party descended into the Underdark, wary of ambush by the drow."
"The adventurers bargained cautiously with the drow matron."
"In the novel, a renegade drow abandons his people's cruel ways."
The plural normally matches the singular, in keeping with the race-name convention of fantasy fiction; 'drows' is rare and informal.
"The tunnels were said to be crawling with drow."
The drow were invented for Dungeons & Dragons in the 1970s — and the name may echo 'trow', the trolls of Orkney folklore.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of drow
The term was coined for Dungeons & Dragons by Gary Gygax in the 1970s as a name for his dark elves. It is often connected to 'trow', a dialectal word for troll found in Orkney and Shetland folklore derived from Old Norse 'troll', though the exact inspiration remains a matter of commentary rather than documented fact. Since its introduction, the word has spread widely through fantasy novels and video games.
How drow is actually used
The word is almost entirely confined to fantasy fiction and gaming contexts; it is a proper-noun-like term within those settings rather than general English vocabulary. The plural is typically 'drow' (unchanged), though 'drows' occasionally appears informally.
Easily confused with drow
Draw is a common verb meaning to pull or sketch, whereas drow is a noun naming a fictional race of dark elves.
A crow is a black bird of the genus Corvus, while a drow is a fictional subterranean elf.