carl

¹

or carle

[ kahrl ]

noun

1. Scot.
   1. a strong, robust fellow, especially a strong manual laborer.
   2. a miser; an extremely thrifty person.
2. Archaic. a churl.
3. Obsolete. a bondman.

Carl

²

[ kahrl ]

noun

1. a male given name, form of Charles.

carl

/ kɑːl /

noun

1. archaic.
   another word for churl

Other Words From

• carlish adjective
• carlish·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of carl¹

before 1000 (in compounds; housecarl ); Middle English; Old English -carl < Old Norse karl man; cognate with Old High German karl; akin to churl

Word History and Origins

Origin of carl¹

Old English, from Old Norse karl