A loading screen just said "Orcs, also known as orsimer..." I always thought the -mer suffix meant elf, does that mean orcs are elves? Or have I just been grossly mislead about the meaning of -mer all these years?

Yes they are.

Yes

Corrupted elves. Just like most modern fantasy worlds.

Orsimer/Orcs are and have always been Elves. They are not courrpted. Falmer are corrupted. Orcs are disfigured.

I didn't think so but they're the most bad-ass kind if they are.

They are.

Orcs = Orsimer

Or = Something that I don't remember.

Mer = Elves

I meant corrupted as in that whole thing with Malacath. So, yeah, disfigured.

Yes. They're elves, probably the most different one from your stand elf, but they are elves. All human races are either men, or elves in tamriel.

Falmer weren't corrupted, they were made blind by the Dwemer, and then adapted to cave-dwelling and also lost most of their culture in the process.

Yes, they are mer whom worship Malacath. For more information, visit the Imperial Library (online, not an ingame location) or give the lore forums a try.

actually that is what the orks are, pariah folk, changed folk, orsimer, or corrupted elves. i dont know the details but they worshiped a deadra that was eaten and became corrupted (he is now molag bal malacath) and they corrupted with it, falmer are snow elvs that wre disfigured by the dwemer

edit: i had my deadra off, thank you expresate for correcting me

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Malacath



There's a bit of the story. You can look up the details if you really want to.

Altmer- High Elf
Bosmer- Wood Elf
Dunmer- Dark Elf
Orismer- Orc Elf

Well -mer doesn't really mean elf. It just refers to a type of being.
Altmer = Cultured People
Bosmer = Tree-Sap People
Orsimer = Pariah People

Can't remember what Dunmer was.

You could sub in "folk" or "ones" for people. Doesn't really matter.

Orcs are disfigured elves by a Daedric Prince, their leader came out of it a Daedric Prince over time as well. He is the Malacath they worship, Lord of Curses forced by a curse.

Aldmer gave spawn to several races of elf/mer.
Altmer: who believe they're closest to the Aldmer who they claim come from the spirits that filled the void before Mundus was even created.
Bosmer: Possibly bread with humans, colonized Valenwood as all elves original came from Summerset Isle.
Orsimer: Tribe of cursed Aldmer as above.
Dwemer: Tribe of elves that colonized Morrowind together with the Chimer. Eventually enslaved the Falmer and disappeared.
Dunmer: Tribe known as the Chimer that after using the heart of Llorkhan elevated three wise people to godhood and therefor cursed by Azura into the Dunmer. Curse seems superficial and just a changed skin and eyecolor.
Moamer: Sea elves lead by a wizard, they focus on controlling snakes and mostly huge seaserpents, they live south of Summerset Isle IIRC.

Mer always means elf, as it means being a dissendant of the Aldmer. Men always mean coming from the Nedic people, of Atmora. They eventually settled in Skyrim and from there colonized Cyrodiil, creating the race known as the Imperials. They also heavily bred with the Aldmer to form the Bretons. Some lore claims bretons even got pointed ears. Redguards don't come originally come from Atmora and are therefor technically not 'men'. What they are I can't tell you. This has nothing to do with skintone but the fact they come from a different place.

Elves indeed. However, whether they used to be Altmer and became disfigured after their patron deity was [censored] out by Boethiah, or whether they always looked like that, or represent some primitive (or advanced?) stage in meric evolution, no one knows. There are mythic explanations for the Orcs and logical ones.