My point exactly. Apologies if that was communicated poorly.

mer=folk. I guess. Just to get the topic back on track and answer the question originally posed...

"Mer", while literally translating as "folk" now specifically refers to those with elven origin, with the possible exception of Betmer refering to argonians, but the reason for that was stated earlier, but I will still waste space to restate it.
Khajiit are elven in origin, though shorter-lived and less elitist in personality. They also look like beasts. Argonians also look like beasts. Argonians also look like a type of beast, so were given the same title, though they have little or no connection to the true Betmer, Khajiit.

Orcs were elven in origin as well, and like the Khajiit, were changed in appearance to something more beast-like. So, orcs are mer in the same sense as Khajiit.

I thought this was already answered by Albides?

Betmer is like to what we call lizardmen or spacemen. It means like men but not. Not a reference to relation.

You know, one motivation behind a preference for the "aboriginal beast race" origin for orcs may be yet another facet of a reaction against the Ehlnofeycentric interpretation of the lore. There may well be more texts to tear apart where Orsimer are concerned; however, for some, I imagine the notion that Ocrs are "yet another kind of elf" is an unsatisfying conclusion. As it stands, the only races which do not somehow tie into the Elhnofey line is maybe the Argonians, and perhaps the Tsaeci.

This is understandable, to me. While the main story about the creation of Nirn concerns the activities of Lorkhan and what became the Aedra, there are also hints that Nirn may have been cobbled together from the remnants of nine worlds that came before, with the largest chunks being those of the Ehlnofey and the Hist. What else came from these other worlds? Some of us seize on the "undocumented" races in the hopes of finding traces of yet another of the lost worlds... and react violently to anything tying these undocumented races to the Ehlnofey. Witness the reaction when I suggest that the Riecklings may truly be what are left of the Falmer...

RIEKLINGS CANNOT BE FALMER!!!!1 THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!!!!11
:rolleyes:

But seriously: What about the Imga? They do not fit in either, unless they are yet another kind of elf changed by Azura.
If I'm not completly mistaken there's also a (now extinct) race of aboriginal birdmen, that lived in the Cyrodiil area before other settled there.
Going to TIL now to check it out.

edit: Oh, and before I go, I know that I have been one of the most valiant and steadfast Riekling-not-Falmer-knights before, but I'm really only anti the idea that falmer always have been rieklings, because that is ridiculous. While I find the idea that the rieklings are "descendants" of Falmer quite farcical as well, I haven't really got any proof against it, so I must accept the possibility.

edit 2: I found the mention of birdmen - it's in http://www.imperial-library.info/obbooks/father_niben.shtml:

And then these notes:

I wouldn't go too darwin (run, fast) on some of these "races". This is a story, after all. Birdmen, goblins and such don't necessarily need an explicit reason to exist. They're wallpaper.

That's true.
Though wallpaper is also more interesting if it has different patterns.

True, but things like these "bird races" are little more than legends, by which I am not implying they do not exist. Rather, I am referring to their relatively small importance on the level of the narrative. They don't need to have an exhaustive or unique background story, simply because the question "Why are they there?" can be adequately answered by the word "because".

Exactly. I agree with you. The importance is that they are. There is no need to create backstories and/or "evolutionary theories" (by which I mean how they became what they are, not implying they must have become so through any kind specialized kind of Evolution) for every race. It is enought to say that, for example, the birdmen are "aboriginal". It also adds to the mystery of the world. Still, were there absolutely no explanation at all, it would be a bit more bland. Like a blank, white wallpaper.
Not attacking anyone who prefers white walls, though :foodndrink:
I myself does not like overly complicated wallpaper patterns.