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Origin and history of churl

churl(n.)

Old English ceorl "peasant, one of the lowest class of freemen, man without rank," from Proto-Germanic *kerlaz, *karlaz (source also of Old Frisian zerl "man, fellow," Middle Low German kerle, Dutch kerel "freeman of low degree," German Kerl "man, husband," Old Norse karl "old man, man").

It had various meaning in early Middle English, including "man of the common people," "a country man," "husbandman," "free peasant;" by 1300, it meant "bondman, villain," also "fellow of low birth or rude manners."

For words for "common man" that acquire an insulting flavor over time, compare boor, villain. In this case, however, the same word also has come to mean "king" in many languages (such as Lithuanian karalius, Czech kral, Polish król) via Charlemagne.

Entries linking to churl

boor(n.)

early 14c., "country-man, peasant farmer, rustic," from Old French bovier "herdsman," from Latin bovis, genitive of bos "cow, ox." This was reinforced by or merged with native Old English gebur "dweller, farmer, peasant" (unrelated but similar in sound and sense), and 16c. by its Dutch cognate boer, from Middle Dutch gheboer "fellow dweller," from Proto-Germanic *buram "dweller," especially "farmer" (compare German Bauer), from PIE root *bheue- "to be, exist, grow."

"A word of involved history in and out of English, though the ultimate etymology is clear enough" [OED]. In English it often was applied to agricultural laborers in or from other lands, as opposed to the native yeoman; the negative transferred sense of "one who is rude in manners," attested by 1560s (in boorish), is from the city-dweller's notion of clownish rustics. Related: Boorishness.

Charlemagne

king of the Franks (742-814), literally "Carl the Great," from French form of Medieval Latin Carolus Magnus (see Charles + Magnus).

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carl
c. 1300, "bondsman; common man, man of low birth," from Old Norse karl "man" (as opposed to "woman"), "male, freeman," from Proto-Germanic *karlon- (source also of Dutch karel "a fellow," Old High German karl "a man, husband"). The same Proto-Germanic source produced Old English
grouch
"ill-tempered person," 1896, earlier "state of irritable glumness" (1890, in expressions such as to have a grouch on), U.S. college student slang, of uncertain origin, possibly from grutching "complaint, grumbling" (see grutch). The Grouch, on the other Hand, gave a correct Imit
skinflint
"miser, one who makes use of contemptible economy to keep money," c. 1700 ("Dictionary of the Canting Crew"), slang ; literally "kind of person who would skin a flint to save or gain something," from skin (v.) + flint. Flay-flint in same sense is from 1670s. Among the 18c. slang
earl
Old English eorl "brave man, warrior, leader, chief" (contrasted with ceorl "churl"), from Proto-Germanic *erlaz, which is...
serf
Middle English sometimes included this class under bond-man, or theu (from Old English þeow), also carl or churl....
boy
ME boi meant 'churl, servant' and (rarely) 'devil.' In texts, the meaning 'male child' does not antedate 1400....
fire-eater
1670s, "juggler who appears to swallow fire as part of an act," from fire (n.) + eater. From 1804 as "person of irascible or recklessly defiant disposition;" especially in U.S. history in reference to vehement Southern partizans (1851). Perhaps due to the extended senses, fire-sw
barbarian
mid-14c., "foreign, of another nation or culture," from Medieval Latin barbarinus (see barbarian (n.)). The meaning "of or pertaining to savages, rude, uncivilized" is from 1590s....early 15c., in reference to classical history, "a non-Roman or non-Greek," earlier barbar (late 14
crab
popular name for a stalk-eyed, short-tailed, ten-legged crustacean, Middle English crabbe, from Old English crabba, from Proto-Germanic *krabbo- (source also of Dutch krab, Old High German krebiz, German Krabbe, Old Norse krabbi "crab"), related to Low German krabben, Dutch krabe
peasant
"rural person of inferior rank or condition," usually engaged in agricultural labor, early 15c., paisaunt, from Anglo-French paisant (early 14c.), Old French paisant, paisent "local inhabitant" (12c., Modern French paysan), earlier paisenc, from pais "country, region" (Modern Fre

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