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Webster 1913 Edition
Earl
Earl
,Noun.
[OE.
eorl
, erl
, AS. eorl
man, noble; akin to OS. erl
boy, man, Icel. jarl
nobleman, count, and possibly to Gr. [GREEK] male, Zend arshan
man. Cf. Jarl
.] A nobleman of England ranking below a marquis, and above a viscount. The rank of an earl corresponds to that of a count (comte) in France, and graf in Germany. Hence the wife of an earl is still called countess. See
Count
. Earl
,Noun.
(Zoöl.)
The needlefish.
[Ireland]
Webster 1828 Edition
Earl
EARL
,Noun.
A British title of nobility, or a nobleman, the third in rank, being next below a marquis, and next above a viscount. The title answers to count [compte] in France, and graaf in Germany. The earl formerly had the government of a shire, and was called shireman. After the conquest earls were called counts, and from them shires have taken the name of counties. Earl is now a mere title, unconnected with territorial jurisdiction.
Definition 2025
Earl
Earl
See also: earl
English
Proper noun
Earl
- The title of an earl.
- (chiefly US) A male given name from the English noun earl.
- 1922 F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and Damned
- "Of course Gladys and Eleanor, having graced the last generation of heroines and being at present in their social prime, will be passed on to the next generation of shopgirls -"
- "Displacing Ella and Stella," interrupted Dick.
- "And Pearl and Jewel,", Gloria added cordially, " and Earl and Elmer and Minnie."
- 1961 Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road, Vintage Contemporaries, 2000, ISBN 0375708448, page 74
- - - - in a world of mandatory diminutives, a corporation of jolly Bills and Jacks and Herbs and Teds in which an unabbreviable given name like Earl must have been a minor handicap, "Oat" was the best that could be done for a man with the given name of Otis.
- 1922 F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and Damned
- A surname for service in the household of an earl, or from a nickname.
- A female given name
Related terms
Translations
Anagrams
earl
earl
See also: Earl
English
Noun
earl (plural earls)
- A British nobleman next in rank above a viscount and below a marquess; equivalent to a European count. A female using the style is termed a countess.
Translations
a British nobleman
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