carl
nounverbcommon in dialogue
- United Kingdom//kɑːl//
- United States//kɑɹl̩//
- Scotland//kɑrəl//
A rude, rustic man; a churl.
noun
- 1
A rude, rustic man; a churl.
In Lent noblemen and carls alike had got into the traces and pulled the carts of stone themselves.
- 2
obsoleteA stingy person; a niggard.
Etymology
From Middle English carl, from Old English carl, a borrowing from Old Norse karl (“man, husband”), from Proto-Germanic *karilaz. Doublet of ceorl, churl, and karl.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo snarl; to talk grumpily or gruffly.
[…] full of ache, sorrow, and grief, children again, dizzards, they carle many times as they sit, and talk to themselves, they are angry, waspish, displeased with everything […]
Etymology
Uncertain.
Forms
- plural
- carls
- past tense
- carled
- past participle
- carled
- present participle
- carling
- third person singular
- carls