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• carl
  carl

  noun
• Carl
  Carl

  noun

  a male given name, form of Charles.

carl

¹ American  

[kahrl] / kɑrl /

Or carle

noun

1. Scot.

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

   2. a miser; an extremely thrifty person.

2. Archaic. a churl.

3. Obsolete. a bondman.

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Carl ² American  

[kahrl] / kɑrl /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Charles.

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carl British  

/ kɑːl /

noun

1. archaic another word for churl

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Other Word Forms

• carlishness
  noun
• carlish
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of carl

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

carl Carl

Yet my minstrelsy 's but a lanely lay, My wealth my aumous fee; Oh, wad that I were wi' the grim auld carl, For this warld is nae for me.

From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume VI The Songs of Scotland of the Past Half Century by Rogers, Charles

He is a daring carl, and, it is said, knows something more than his paternoster.

From The Childhood of King Erik Menved An Historical Romance by Ingemann, Bernhard Severin

An unco pernicketty auld carl, thon ane,’ he remarked, sotto voce. 

From The Disentanglers by Lang, Andrew

Then cam in the carl cat, Wi’ a fiddle on his back.

From Lyrics from the Song-Books of the Elizabethan Age by Bullen, A. H. (Arthur Henry)

But thou art right, child: he is a coarse, rude carl, and more like a beast than a man.

From The Childhood of King Erik Menved An Historical Romance by Ingemann, Bernhard Severin

The man, who has been identified by US media as 65-year-old Carl Isom-McDaniel, sustained multiple injuries and was described by witnesses as "in a lot of pain".

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

It’s an insightful and effective innovation in director Carl Cofield’s otherwise straightforward—and effectively streamlined—staging.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

Carl Erik Rinsch, the director of the 2013 Keanu Reeves action film “47 Ronin,” will serve more than two years in federal prison for defrauding Netflix of $11 million.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Dorsainvil appeared to be in shock while sitting solemnly beside Pastor Carl Ruby, a leader of local advocacy coalition Springfield G92, in the sanctuary of Central Christian Church.

From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026

“No, but his father was there. He went,” Carl said.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings