churl
A free peasant of the lowest rank, below an earl and a thaneA free peasant (as opposed to a serf) of the lowest rank, below an earl and a thane; a freeman; also (more generally), a person without royal or noble status; a commoner.
Meaning
6 sensesA free peasant (as opposed to a serf) of the lowest rank, below an earl and a thane; a freeman; also (more generally), a person without royal or noble status; a commoner.
A bondman or serf.
(broadly, derogatory)A rough, surly, ill-bred person; a boor.
Kerl
грубия́нgrubiján, мужла́нmužlán, хамxam
a crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement
(broadly)A freedman, ranked below a thane but above a thrall.
(archaic, broadly)A countryman, a peasant, a rustic.
(archaic, broadly)A person who is stingy, especially with money; a selfish miser, a niggard.
a selfish person who is unwilling to give or spend
Translations
7 languagesOrigin
Inherited from West Midland Middle English churle (“person not of the nobility or clergy;Inherited from West Midland Middle English churle (“person not of the nobility or clergy; serf, servant, simpleton, fellow”, East Midland Middle English cherl), from Old English ċeorl (“freeman ranking below a þegn but above a thrall; commoner, peasant; countryman, husbandman; man; husband”), from Proto-West Germanic *kerl, from Proto-Germanic *karilaz (“elder; man”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- (“to grow old; to mature”). Doublet of carl /carle, ceorl, and karl.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: churlsSynonyms
50 synonymsWord family
5 related wordsSee also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.