churl

American  

[churl] / tʃɜrl /

noun

1. a rude, boorish, or surly person.

2. a peasant; rustic.

3. a stingy person; miser; skinflint.

   He was a churl in his affections.

4. English History. a freeman of the lowest rank.

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churl British  

/ tʃɜːl /

noun

1. a surly ill-bred person

2. archaic a farm labourer

3. a variant spelling of ceorl

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Etymology

Origin of churl

First recorded before 900; Middle English cherl, Old English ceorl “male human being, man, freeman (of the lowest class)”; cognate with Dutch kerel, German Kerl “guy, fellow, chap”; akin to carl

Explanation

A churl is a rude or nasty person. The basketball player who's constantly jabbing opponents with his elbows and deliberately tripping them is a churl. Churl comes from the Old English ceorl, "peasant," and originally that's exactly what it meant: a commoner, or person who didn't belong to the nobility. During the 15th century, the word became somewhat negative, meaning "a low fellow," and by the 1800s it meant "person inclined to loutish behavior." Today churl is less common than its related adjective churlish, but it's still a great name for someone who's vulgar and mean.

Example Sentences

Barabak: You would have to be a churl not to respect and admire Vance’s career path, which, to use a phrase oft-heard Monday might, truly embodies the American Dream.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 16, 2024

As with Stosur, it would take the dourest churl to dislike Barty, so the sight of either pulling through in Melbourne would have pleased — or will please — anyone worth knowing.

From Washington Post • Jan. 22, 2022

But you’d be an awful churl to insist upon making the argument.

From The Guardian • May 27, 2017

But with the superb singing on display, I am beginning to feel like a churl for citing any flaws.

From New York Times • Apr. 27, 2015

Ceorl, churl, n. before the Norman Conquest an ordinary freeman not of noble birth.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various