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• carl
  carl
• 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

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

carl Carl

Gie a carl your finger, and he'll take your haill hand.

From The Proverbs of Scotland by Alexander Hislop

Aye, child, and more's the pity: he is the ablest carl I have known; but Denmark has given birth to him to her own ruin.

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

Here lies Johnie Pigeon: What was his religion Whae'er desires to ken In some other warl' world Maun follow the carl Must, old fellow For here Johnie Pigeon had none!

From Robert Burns How To Know Him by William Allan Neilson

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 Bernhard Severin Ingemann

When came the carl to the lady's yett, He rudely, rudely rapped thereat.

From English and Scottish Ballads, Volume II (of 8) by Various

Judge Carl Harrison said: "You had a position in the legal profession which allowed you to fund your greed."

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

Delve into the rich past of spine-chilling cinema, from such filmmakers as Tod Browning, Carl Theodor Dreyer and George A. Romero.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

“I’ve heard stories that people are getting off the planes and literally sprinting down the runway for their lives,” said Carl Ruby, a pastor at the Central Christian Church of Springfield.

From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026

There’s a rich conversation about the efficacy of influential figures such as gangster Casper Holstein and writer Carl Van Vechten, who helped finance and support, respectively, members of the Harlem Renaissance and their work.

From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026

On the first-ever Carousel Carl episode, Carl went over the life cycle of stars and explained that all things on earth, people included, are made of atoms that came from exploding stars.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

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