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.

---

churl British  

/ tʃɜːl /

noun

1. a surly ill-bred person

2. archaic a farm labourer

3. 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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

churl

But I don’t want to be too much of a churl.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2024

And you’d have to be a churl not to like it.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 3, 2019

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

Miserable churl, when you held me fast in your rude hand, easy was it to know that I was no larger than a sparrow or a finch, and weighed less than half an ounce.

From Aucassin & Nicolette And Other Mediaeval Romances and Legends by Eugene Mason