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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

"Carl outlined the works that have been undertaken and shared images to help residents understand how the ground is moving."

From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026

Carl: If he doesn't have us playing like crabs going side to side again for another season and understands that central midfielders don't play right-back then he'll be an improvement that's for sure.

From BBC • May 31, 2026

Carl Karcher, who parlayed a single hot dog pushcart into a chain of more than 1,000 fast-food restaurants bearing his name, died Friday.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026

Fertitta was able to fend off a competing offer from billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s firm.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

I stared at the table, disappointed, while Carl zipped up his jacket.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings