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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.
erl.
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 2024


Earl

Earl

See also: earl

English

Proper noun

Earl

  1. The title of an earl.
  2. (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.
  3. A surname for service in the household of an earl, or from a nickname.
  4. A female given name

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earl

earl

See also: Earl

English

Noun

earl (plural earls)

  1. 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.

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