English word origin

Etymology of carl

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.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A rude, rustic man; a churl. · A stingy person; a niggard.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentioncarlenm
Inherited-form mentioncarlang
Derivation mentionkarlnon · man, husband
Derivation mention*karilazgem-pro
Doublet mentionceorlen
Doublet mentionchurlen
Doublet mentionkarlen

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "carl"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English carl"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "carl"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English carl"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "karl",
        "t": "man, husband"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse karl (“man, husband”)"
    },
    {
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        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*karilaz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *karilaz"
    },
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        "2": "ceorl",
        "3": "churl",
        "4": "karl"
      },
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
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      "carl",
      "carl#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "carl",
      "carl#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "karl",
      "karl#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*karilaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/karilaz"
    ],
    [
      "ceorl",
      "ceorl#English"
    ],
    [
      "churl",
      "churl#English"
    ],
    [
      "karl",
      "karl#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A rude, rustic man; a churl.",
        "A stingy person; a niggard."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "obsolete"
      ],
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

To snarl; to talk grumpily or gruffly.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Uncertain.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en"
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      "expansion": "Uncertain"
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  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To snarl; to talk grumpily or gruffly."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "obsolete"
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for carl →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-Y2FybA