ceorl

American  

[chey-awrl] / ˈtʃeɪ ɔrl /

noun

Obsolete.

1. churl.

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ceorl British  

/ tʃɛəl /

noun

1. a freeman of the lowest class in Anglo-Saxon England

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Other Word Forms

• ceorlish adjective

Etymology

Origin of ceorl

before 1000; this form borrowed (17th century) < Old English

Example Sentences

‘Come, stand before me, Ceorl!’ he said.

From Literature

Moreover, in the laws of the Wessex king, Ine, the value of a man’s oath is expressed in hides, the oath for a king’s thegn being probably worth 60 hides and that of a ceorl 5 hides.

From Project Gutenberg

The difference does not consist merely in a diversity of legal value, social influence and occupation, but also in the fact that the ceorl may economically and legally be dependent on the eorl, and afterwards on the thane.

From Project Gutenberg

And when we come to Saxon evidence, we shall see how intimately the condition of the ceorl connects itself with the state of the villain along the main lines and in detail.

From Project Gutenberg

Now it is not a word transplanted by the Conquest; it was in use before the Conquest as the Latin equivalent of ceorl, geneat, and probably geb�r.

From Project Gutenberg