noun
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a surly ill-bred person
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archaic a farm labourer
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a variant spelling of ceorl
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.
Vocabulary lists containing churl
Scrooge, Grinch, and Churl: Wonderful Words for Unpleasant People
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"The Wife of Bath's Tale," Vocabulary from the narrative poem
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Churl" was the word suggested by Trish Andersen, a young journalist – Trish, sorry, do I know you?
From US News • Oct. 18, 2016
How about starting a new competition: "Churl of the Year?"
From Time Magazine Archive
Puck finds the lovers asleep, and says to Lysander: "Churl, upon thy eyes I throw, All the power that this charm doth owe, When thou wakest, let love forbid Sleep his seat on thy eyelid."
From Shakspere, Personal Recollections by Joyce, John A.
"Did you bring me the price of it and the skin itself?" said the Churl.
From The King of Ireland's Son by Colum, Padraic
These signs are still before me: "Fear," "Danger," "Unprecedented," and I hear black "No" Still thundering, and "Churl."
From The Book of American Negro Poetry by Johnson, James Weldon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
