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Webster 1913 Edition

Churl

Churl

,
Noun.
[AS.
ceorl
a freeman of the lowest rank, man, husband; akin to D.
karel
,
kerel
, G.
kerl
, Dan. & Sw.
karl
, Icel.
karl
, and to the E. proper name
Charles
(orig.,
man
,
male
), and perh. to Skr.
jāra
lover. Cf.
Carl
,
Charles’s Wain
.]
1.
A rustic; a countryman or laborer.
“A peasant or churl.”
Spenser.
Your rank is all reversed; let men of cloth
Bow to the stalwart
churls
in overalls.
Emerson.
2.
A rough, surly, ill-bred man; a boor.
A
churl's
courtesy rarely comes, but either for gain or falsehood.
Sir P. Sidney.
3.
A selfish miser; an illiberal person; a niggard.
Like to some rich
churl
hoarding up his pelf.
Drayton.

Churl

,
Adj.
Churlish; rough; selfish.
[Obs.]
Ford.

Webster 1828 Edition

Churl

CHURL

, n.
1.
A rude, surly, ill-bred man.
2.
A rustic; a countryman, or laborer.
3.
A miser; a niggard. Is. 32.

Definition 2024

churl

churl

English

Noun

churl ‎(plural churls)

  1. A rustic; a countryman or labourer; a peasant.
    • Emerson
      Your rank is all reversed; let men of cloth / Bow to the stalwart churls in overalls.
  2. A rough, surly, ill-bred person; a boor.
    • Sir Philip Sidney
      A churl's courtesy rarely comes, but either for gain or falsehood.
  3. A selfish miser; an illiberal person; a niggard.
    • Drayton
      like to some rich churl hoarding up his pelf
  4. (Theodism) a freedman, ranked below a thane but above a thrall

Translations

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Etymology

From Middle English churl, cherl, cheorl, from Old English ċeorl ‎(“a freeman of the lowest class, a churl, a countryman, husbandman, a hero, husband, man, male person, a man of inferior class, peasant, rustic, commoner, layman”), from Proto-Germanic *karilaz ‎(“man, elder”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵera-, *ǵrā- ‎(“grown-up, old, mature”). Cognate with Scots churl ‎(“a churl, a rustic”), North Frisian tzierl, tjierl, tsjerl ‎(“fellow, man, churl”), West Frisian tsjirl ‎(“fellow, churl”), Dutch kerel ‎(“man, churl, fellow”), Low German kerl, kerel, kirl ‎(“man, fellow, churl”), German Kerl ‎(“man, fellow”), Swedish karl ‎(“man, fellow”), Icelandic karl ‎(“a male”), Polish karzeł ‎(“a small man”). The deprecating sense develops by 1300. The variant carl, carle (without derogatory connotation) is a loan from the Old Norse cognate. See carl, carle.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɜː(r)l

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