carl

or carle

[ kahrl ]

/ kɑrl /

noun

Scot.

a strong, robust fellow, especially a strong manual laborer.
a miser; an extremely thrifty person.

Archaic. a churl.

Obsolete. a bondman.

Nearby words

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

Related formscarl·ish, adjectivecarl·ish·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for carle

“The whole ticking-time-bomb thesis is … so cockamamie,” said Carle.
Human Rights Watch: Prosecute Bush, Cheney Over Torture Crimes|R.M. Schneiderman|July 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
“Prosecutions will divide us and not make these excesses less likely,” said Carle.
Human Rights Watch: Prosecute Bush, Cheney Over Torture Crimes|R.M. Schneiderman|July 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
These claims are absolutely false, according to former interrogators such as Carle and Kleinman.
Human Rights Watch: Prosecute Bush, Cheney Over Torture Crimes|R.M. Schneiderman|July 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Rage filled the hearts of both Roland and Carle; but the word was spoken, and Roland must remain.
National Epics|Kate Milner Rabb

Said the carle: "We have come the shortest way this bitter morning; that is all."
The Sundering Flood|William Morris
Alas that thou shouldst talk so,” said a carle, rising up from the warm sand; “what shall all thy toil win thee?
The Story of the Glittering Plain|William Morris
Carle Vernet, the father of Horace Vernet, was also an artist.
Paris: With Pen and Pencil|David W. Bartlett
But Goldilocks, he looked and longed, And saw how the carle the queen-bird wronged.
Poems by the Way|William Morris

British Dictionary definitions for carle

carl

carle

/ (kɑːl) /

noun

archaic another word for churl

Word Origin for carl

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

Word Origin and History for carle

carl

c.1300, "bondsman; common man, man of low birth," from Old Norse karl "man, male, freeman," from Proto-Germanic *karlon-, the same root that produced Old English ceorl "man of low degree" (see churl).

The Mellere was a stout carle for the nones [Chaucer]

Carl

masc. proper name, from Middle High German Karl "man, husband" (see carl).