Etymology of churl

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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗

noun

A 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. · A rough, surly, ill-bred person; a boor. · A countryman, a peasant, a rustic.

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

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. Sense 2.1 (“rough, surly, ill-bred person”) is probably an extension of sense 1 (“free peasant of the lowest rank; person without royal or noble status; bondman, serf”) and sense 2.2 (“countryman, peasant, rustic”). Sense 2.3 (“person who is stingy”) was influenced by Nabal, who is described in the King James Version of the Bible as “churlish and evil in his doings”; when Nabal, a rich man, is asked to give provisions to David’s men, he replies, “Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? There be many servants nowadays that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?” (1 Samuel 25:3 and 10–11; spelling modernized). Cognates * Danish karl (“fellow, young man, farmhand”) * Dutch kerel (“churl; fellow, man”) * Low German kerl, kerel, kirl (“churl; fellow, man”) * North Frisian tzierl, tjierl, tsjerl (“churl; fellow, man”) * Old High German charl, charlo (German Kerl (“fellow, man”)) * Old Norse karl (“man”) (Icelandic karl (“man”)) * Polish karzeł (“small man”) * Scots churl (“a churl; a rustic”) * Swedish karl (“fellow, man”) * West Frisian tsjirl (“churl; fellow, man”)

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Root classification mention*ǵerh₂-ine-pro
Inherited-form mentionċeorlang · freeman ranking below a þegn but above a thrall; commoner, peasant; countryman, husbandman; man; husband
Inherited-form mention*kerlgmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*karilazgem-pro · elder; man
Inherited-form mention*ǵerh₂-ine-pro · to grow old; to mature
Doublet mentioncarl//carleen
Doublet mentionceorlen
Doublet mentionkarlen
Cognate mentionkarlda · fellow, young man, farmhand
Cognate mentionkerelnl · churl; fellow, man
Cognate mentionkerlnds
Cognate mentiontzierlfrr
Cognate mentioncharlgoh
Cognate mentionKerlde · fellow, man
Cognate mentionkarlnon · man
Cognate mentionkarlis · man
Cognate mentionkarzełpl · small man
Cognate mentionchurlsco · a churl; a rustic
Cognate mentionkarlsv · fellow, man
Cognate mentiontsjirlfy · churl; fellow, man

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ǵerh₂-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm-emi",
        "2": "cherl"
      },
      "expansion": "East Midland Middle English cherl"
    },
    {
      "name": "yesno",
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
      "expansion": "I"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm-wmi",
        "3": "churle",
        "4": "",
        "5": "person not of the nobility or clergy; serf, servant, simpleton, fellow",
        "lit": "",
        "pos": "East Midland Middle English <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"enm\">cherl</i>",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": "",
        "id": "",
        "sc": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "West Midland Middle English churle (“person not of the nobility or clergy; serf, servant, simpleton, fellow”, East Midland Middle English cherl)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm-wmi",
        "3": "churle",
        "t": "person not of the nobility or clergy; serf, servant, simpleton, fellow",
        "pos": "East Midland Middle English <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"enm\">cherl</i>"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from West Midland Middle English churle (“person not of the nobility or clergy; serf, servant, simpleton, fellow”, East Midland Middle English cherl)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ċeorl",
        "t": "freeman ranking below a þegn but above a thrall; commoner, peasant; countryman, husbandman; man; husband"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ċeorl (“freeman ranking below a þegn but above a thrall; commoner, peasant; countryman, husbandman; man; husband”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*kerl"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *kerl"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*karilaz",
        "t": "elder; man"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *karilaz (“elder; man”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ǵerh₂-",
        "t": "to grow old; to mature"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- (“to grow old; to mature”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "carl//carle",
        "3": "ceorl",
        "4": "karl"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of carl /carle, ceorl, and karl"
    },
    {
      "name": "nb...",
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "[…]"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "cog"
      },
      "expansion": "Cognates"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "karl",
        "t": "fellow, young man, farmhand"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish karl (“fellow, young man, farmhand”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "kerel",
        "t": "churl; fellow, man"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch kerel (“churl; fellow, man”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "kerl"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German kerl"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "tzierl"
      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian tzierl"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "charl"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German charl"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Kerl",
        "t": "fellow, man"
      },
      "expansion": "German Kerl (“fellow, man”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "karl",
        "t": "man"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse karl (“man”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "karl",
        "t": "man"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic karl (“man”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "pl",
        "2": "karzeł",
        "t": "small man"
      },
      "expansion": "Polish karzeł (“small man”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "churl",
        "t": "a churl; a rustic"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots churl (“a churl; a rustic”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "karl",
        "t": "fellow, man"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish karl (“fellow, man”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "tsjirl",
        "t": "churl; fellow, man"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian tsjirl (“churl; fellow, man”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "churle",
      "churle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "cherl",
      "cherl#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ċeorl",
      "ceorl#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*kerl",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/kerl"
    ],
    [
      "*karilaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/karilaz"
    ],
    [
      "*ǵerh₂-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵerh₂-"
    ],
    [
      "carl",
      "carl#English"
    ],
    [
      "carle",
      "carle#English"
    ],
    [
      "ceorl",
      "ceorl#English"
    ],
    [
      "karl",
      "karl#English"
    ],
    [
      "Bible",
      "Bible"
    ],
    [
      "karl",
      "karl#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "kerel",
      "kerel#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "kerl",
      "kerl#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "kerel",
      "kerel#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "kirl",
      "kirl#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "tzierl",
      "tzierl#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "tjierl",
      "tjierl#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "tsjerl",
      "tsjerl#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "charl",
      "charl#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "charlo",
      "charlo#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "Kerl",
      "Kerl#German"
    ],
    [
      "karl",
      "karl#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "karl",
      "karl#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "karzeł",
      "karzeł#Polish"
    ],
    [
      "churl",
      "churl#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "karl",
      "karl#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "tsjirl",
      "tsjirl#West_Frisian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A 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.",
        "A rough, surly, ill-bred person; a boor.",
        "A countryman, a peasant, a rustic."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "derogatory",
        "archaic"
      ],
      "recordId": "98038b38c8155618bb473350a7560afe7df97da58eb34911431940f11f7cdb3e",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a582574a1316fca32ba7fa28205507d3b093ec2b54cf3153fa73ebd1e36e65fe",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 226028
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 2,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

The source etymologies

Unnumbered source etymology

Relationships mentioned by the source

Where this record stops

Source and snapshot