carl meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

carl

nounalso spelled Carl

UK /kɑːl/ · US /kɑɹl̩/

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.

A rude, rustic man; a churl.

In Lent noblemen and carls alike had got into the traces and pulled the carts of stone themselves.1974, Guy Davenport, Tatlin!:

Scotland, Obsolete A stingy person; a niggard.

Related terms: housecarl, wife-carl

carl

verb

Etymology Uncertain.

Obsolete To 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 […], New York 2001, p.210

Related terms: cold carl, hot carl, warm carl

Carl

noun

/kɑːl/ · /kɑɹl/

Etymology Shortening.

Informal A student at Carleton College, Minnesota.

Located in rural Minnesota, Carleton is not surrounded by any cultural diversity unless you count pig farms and cow farms as separately diverse institutions. The nice thing about Carleton is that Carls are pretty much non-judgmental […]2005, Adam Zang, Jendrey Julie, Chris Mason, Carleton College:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — authors: page histories for carl and Carl.