earl
noun
a British nobleman of a rank below that of marquis and above that of viscount: called count for a time after the Norman conquest. The wife of an earl is a countess.
earl
1 American
[url]
/ ɜrl /
noun
-
earls
plural
-
a British nobleman of a rank below that of marquis and above that of viscount: called count for a time after the Norman conquest. The wife of an earl is a countess.
-
(in Anglo-Saxon England) a governor of one of the great divisions of England, including East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, and Wessex.
Earl
2
American
[url]
/ ɜrl /
Or
Earle
noun
earl
British
/ ɜːl /
noun
-
Female equivalent: countess. (in the British Isles) a nobleman ranking below a marquess and above a viscount
-
(in Anglo-Saxon England) a royal governor of any of the large divisions of the kingdom, such as Wessex
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of earl
before 900; Middle English erl, Old English eorl; cognate with Old Saxon erl man, Old Norse jarl chieftain
Explanation
An earl is a member of the British nobility. An earl is ranked above a viscount or a baron, in case you know those titles. Earl certainly carries more clout than "Mister"! One of the ceremonial titles given to noblemen in the United Kingdom is earl. Being an earl used to come with a great deal of power and control over a certain region, including the authority to pass judgment in courts of law. While it's still prestigious to be an earl, there's less actual power involved in the position. The word itself comes from the Old English word eorl, "brave man, warrior, leader, or chief."
Vocabulary lists containing earl
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.
See Examples For:
The four generations of the Wallop family include a British earl and 18-year U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The earl has denied siding with the Duke of Sussex over his brother, the Prince of Wales.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
In excerpts published by the Daily Mail, the earl claimed King Charles III told him "we'll forget her soon enough", but Buckingham Palace said in a statement that fraternal grief could "colour memory".
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Similarly, the earl of Peterborough's son refused both to remove his hat and to enter a plea when tried for treason in 1658.
From Science Daily ● May 7, 2026
“M-m-m-m-f-f-m-m,” mumbled the earl, desperately trying to swallow another mouthful.
From "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster
John Nichols, a former accountant, and his son Larry, a former law clerk to Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, founded Devon in 1971.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The paper adds that the Royal Family are still reeling from the revelations in Earl Spencer's memoir about his sister, Princess Diana.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
In his memoir, Earl Spencer said Morgan was editor of the Daily Mirror when the Mirror Group published "highly intrusive photographs of Princess Diana at the gym".
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Earl Spencer's book about his sister, Diana, has had six days of public accusations and counter-claims, with extensive news coverage.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
“Try not to be gone any longer than you can help,” Earl says.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
Its inhabitants are those of “there will always be an England” England: stern vicars, timid curates, lords and earls, penniless titled wastrels living on allowances from their uncles, imperious aunts, upper-crust twits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2025
The tradition caught on and English colleges became diploma mills for earls and barons who never cracked a book or scribbled on parchment in their storied halls.
From Washington Times ● May 9, 2018
Magna Carta was renegotiated on four occasions within the first decade of its existence, as both the King and England's earls, bishops and barons all attempted to redefine its terms.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2014
To pass the time, Huck is telling Jim stories about “kings, and dukes, and earls, and such.”
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2012
Impressed by what they saw, the earls introduced cannons to the English army, which adopted them enthusiastically and already used them against French soldiers at the battle of Crecy six years later.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
