carl

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɑɹl̩/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English carl, borrowed from Old Norse karl (“man, male; freeman”),^[2][3][4][5] from Proto-Germanic *karlaz, cognate with Old High German karl (“man, husband”) and Dutch karel (“fellow”).^[3][2][6] The same Germanic source gave Old English ceorl (see churl), the name Carl and, through Latin and French, Charles.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A bondman or villein, and a man of low birth or rude manners: before 1300 in the OED;^[7] about 1300 in Etymonline.^[2] NODE and SOED trace it to late Old English, in the compound -carl.^[5][6][4]

Semantic evolution

A man of the common people, a countryman, is from 1375;^[7] Chaucer's Miller is a stout carl.^[2] One who is churlish or mean with money is from 1542.^[7] In Scots it came to mean simply a fellow, a man, often a strong one,^[3][7] and as a modifier, male, as in carl cat (about 1605).^[7] The word is now archaic, kept mainly in Scots and northern dialect.^[6][8][9]

Timeline

• before 1300 – a bondman; a churl.^[7]
• 1375 – a countryman.^[7]
• 1542 – a miser.^[7]
• c. 1605 – male, as carl cat.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (archaic) A man of low birth; a peasant or churl.
2. (Scots) A fellow, especially a strong or rough one.

Word family

• carlish
• carlishness

Related words

• housecarl
• churl
• Charles
• carline

Usage notes

In Yorkshire and Durham dialect a different carl meant to parch peas,^[9] and SOED takes it as a back-formation from carling.^[9][6]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b c Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)