carl

or carle

[ kahrl ]

noun
  1. Scot.

    • a strong, robust fellow, especially a strong manual laborer.

    • a miser; an extremely thrifty person.

  2. Archaic. a churl.

  1. Obsolete. a bondman.

Origin of carl

1
before 1000 (in compounds; see housecarl); Middle English; Old English -carl<Old Norse karl man; cognate with Old High German karl; akin to churl

Other words from carl

  • carlish, adjective
  • carl·ish·ness, noun

Other definitions for Carl (2 of 2)

Carl
[ kahrl ]

noun
  1. a male given name, form of Charles.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use carl in a sentence

  • Leif and his house-carls, of whom there were ten present at the time, did not take long to busk them for the fight.

    The Norsemen in the West | R.M. Ballantyne
  • Leif was there, and Astrid herself, and all the house-carls in the hall must have heard her, for she spoke very loud.

    The Norsemen in the West | R.M. Ballantyne
  • For those carls helmets were bought and coats of ringed armour made, and for a month they exercised daily.

    Wulf the Saxon | G. A. Henty
  • Only the witless carls and cottar folk are so simple as to believe that she has aught of evil in her words.

    The Thirsty Sword | Robert Leighton
  • The two Carls had not reached the rock, when the two Cudjoes stooped, and took up each a stone and threw them.

    Cudjo's Cave | J. T. Trowbridge

British Dictionary definitions for carl

carl

carle

/ (kɑːl) /


noun
  1. archaic another word for churl

Origin of carl

1
Old English, from Old Norse karl

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012