churln.
/tʃəːl/, U.S. /tʃərl/ 1. A male human being, a man; esp. ‘man’ as correlative to ‘wife’, husband. (In Middle English mingled with other senses.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > man > [noun]
churla800
werec900
rinkeOE
wapmanc950
heOE
wyeOE
gomeOE
ledeOE
seggeOE
shalkOE
manOE
carmanlOE
mother bairnc1225
hemea1250
mother sona1250
hind1297
buck1303
mister mana1325
piecec1325
groomc1330
man of mouldc1330
hathela1350
sire1362
malea1382
fellowa1393
guestc1394
sergeant?a1400
tailarda1400
tulka1400
harlotc1405
mother's sona1470
frekea1475
her1488
masculinea1500
gentlemana1513
horse?a1513
mutton?a1513
merchant1549
child1551
dick1553
sorrya1555
knavea1556
dandiprat1556
cove1567
rat1571
manling1573
bird1575
stone-horse1580
loona1586
shaver1592
slave1592
copemate1593
tit1594
dog1597
hima1599
prick1598
dingle-dangle1605
jade1608
dildoa1616
Roger1631
Johnny1648
boy1651
cod1653
cully1676
son of a bitch1697
cull1698
feller1699
chap1704
buff1708
son of a gun1708
buffer1749
codger1750
Mr1753
he-man1758
fella1778
gilla1790
gloak1795
joker1811
gory1819
covey1821
chappie1822
Charley1825
hombre1832
brother-man1839
rooster1840
blokie1841
hoss1843
Joe1846
guy1847
plug1848
chal1851
rye1851
omee1859
bloke1861
guffin1862
gadgie1865
mug1865
kerel1873
stiff1882
snoozer1884
geezer1885
josser1886
dude1895
gazabo1896
jasper1896
prairie dog1897
sport1897
crow-eater1899
papa1903
gink1906
stud1909
scout1912
head1913
beezer1914
jeff1917
pisser1918
bimbo1919
bozo1920
gee1921
mush1936
rye mush1936
basher1942
okie1943
mugger1945
cat1946
ou1949
tess1952
oke1970
bra1974
muzhik1993
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > married man > [noun] > husband
churla800
lordeOE
werec893
husbanda1275
mana1325
masterc1325
sovereign1390
maritea1398
husbandman?a1439
goodman?1507
baron1595
spouse1604
husband of one's bosom1611
old man1673
hubby1682
sposo1741
hub1809
master-man1825
pot and pan1900
mister1931
DH1993
a800 Corp. Gloss. in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. 54 Uxorius, ceorl.
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) iv. 17 Wel þu cwæde þæt þu næfst ceorl, witodlice þu hæf[de]st fif ceorlas [1160 Hatton cheorles], and se ðe ðu nu hæfst nis ðin ceorl.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 14788 Alde & ȝunge. & were & wif. & cherl. & child.
c1230 Hali Meid. 39 Þe croh eorneð iþe fur & þe cheorl chideð.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2715 Moyses..hente ðe cherl wið hise wond.
c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde i. 1024 Thow hast ful grete care, Lest the cherl may fal out of the Mone.
2.
a. In the Old English constitution: a man simply, without rank; a member of the third or lowest rank of freemen. (Only Old English except historical.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farmer > [noun] > rustic or peasant
tillman940
churla1000
ploughman1223
bondmanc1250
bondc1275
ploughswain1296
countrymanc1300
boundec1320
Hobc1325
charla1400
landmana1400
Jack (John) Upland1402
carlc1405
bowerc1430
peasanta1450
rurala1475
agrest1480
bergier1480
carlleina1500
rustical?1532
ploughboy1544
boor1548
rusticc1550
kern1556
tillsman1561
clown1563
Jocka1568
Jock upalanda1568
John Uponlanda1568
russet coat1568
rustican1570
hind?1577
swain1579
Corydon1581
mountain man1587
Phillis1589
sylvan1589
russeting1597
Joan1598
stubble boy1598
paysan1609
carlota1616
swainling1615
raiyat1625
contadino1630
under-swaina1644
high shoe1647
boorinn1649
Bonhomme1660
high-shoon-man1664
countrywoman1679
villan1685
russet gown1694
ruralist1739
paysanne1748
bauer1799
bonderman1804
bodach1830
contadina1835
agrestian1837
peasantess1841
country jake1845
rufus1846
bonder1848
hayseed1851
bucolic1862
agricole1882
country jay1888
child (son, etc.) of the soil1891
hillbilly1900
palouser1903
kisan1935
woop woop1936
swede-basher1943
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific ranks of common people > [noun] > person of lowest freeman class
ceorla1000
churla1000
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > [noun] > freeman or not slave > of the lowest class
ceorla1000
churla1000
a1000 Laws of Ælfred in B. Thorpe Anc. Laws Eng. (1840) I. 64 B Swa we eac settaþ be eallum hadum, ge ceorle ge eorle.
a1000 in B. Thorpe Anc. Laws Eng. (1840) I. 182 Twelfhyndes mannes aþ forstent vi ceorla aþ.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 5589 Ærst he sloh þæ eorles. & þrallede þæ chærles.
1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 367 The Churle or Yeoman.
a1640 T. Risdon Chorogr. Surv. Devon (1811) (modernized text) §284 296 The Saxons..made three degrees of free-men; to wit—an earl, a thane, and a churl.
1861 C. H. Pearson Early & Middle Ages Eng. 72 The freeman proper, or ceorl, was the man who preferred to settle on his share of the land won in war.
1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest V. xxii. 27 Villanus, a word..beginning to bear a meaning much lower than that of the old English Churl which it translates.
b. In a looser and more general application, this sense has come down to modern times, esp. as the antithesis of king, noble, gentle; but often mingled with other senses.
ΚΠ
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Pref. Epist. Jerome iv. 65 Chirl Petre, and cherl Joon, of whom either myȝt seyn, and if I be vnwise in word, neuerthelater not in kunnyng.
c1386 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale ⁋687 As wel may the cherl be saved as the lord.
a1500 Lytylle Childrenes Lytil Bk. (Harl. 541) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 18 Pyke not þyne Eris ne thy nostrellis; If þou do, men wolle sey þou come of cherlis.
1612 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote: Pt. 1 iii. i. 111 Rich or poor, Gentleman or Churl.
1845 H. B. Hirst Poems 47 Not the churl I seem, But one of lofty birth.
1877 J. Morley Carlyle in Crit. Misc. (1878) 1st Ser. 198 [He] warns all whom it concerns, from King to churl.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > service > feudal service > serfdom > [noun] > serf
town manOE
townsmanOE
churl?c1225
carla1300
villeina1325
peasant1550
serf1611
helot1823
robotnik1945
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 69 [He] seide to þe cnicht þe robbeð hise poure men..for eauer me schal þe cheorl polkin & pilien.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xi. 121 For may no cherle chartre make ne his catel selle With-outen leue of his lorde.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 239 A cherle [L. servus] was wiþ hym in his chare.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 2136 Of cham chorle [Vesp. thrall] come ful riȝt.
c1430 J. Lydgate Chorle & Bird (1818) 17 A chorles chorle is alway woo be goon.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Churle or villayne regardant, colonarius.
a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 71 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) Old men, women, children, and hyndes (which they call Churles).
1607 J. Davies Let. in Hist. Tracts (1787) 255 He [Mr. Guyre] had almost a ballibetagh of land, which he manured with his own churles.
4. A countryman, peasant, rustic, boor. (Now usually tinged with other senses.)
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > peasant or rustic > [noun]
churlc1275
Hobc1325
Hodgec1386
charla1400
carlc1405
peasanta1450
hoggler1465
agrest1480
hoggener1488
rustical?1532
boor1548
rusticc1550
kern1556
clown1563
Jocka1568
John Uponlanda1568
russet coat1568
rustican1570
hind?1577
Corydon1581
gaffer1589
gran1591
russeting1597
dunghill1608
hog rubber1611
carlota1616
high shoe1647
Bonhomme1660
high-shoon-man1664
cot1695
ruralist1739
Johnnya1774
Harry1796
bodach1830
bucolic1862
cafone1872
bogman1891
country bookie1904
desi1907
middle peasant1929
woodchuck1931
swede-basher1943
moegoe1953
shit-kicker1961
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2126 Ælc cheorl [c1300 Otho man] eæt. his sulche.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Wisd. xvii. 16 If forsothe a cherl who were, or a shepperde.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 72 Cherelle or charle, rusticus.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cxxiiiv The peisantz or chorles of the countrey.
1579 E. K. in E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. July Gloss. Kerne, a Churle or Farmer.
1693 W. Robertson Phraseologia Generalis (new ed.) 335 A churl, or countrey carl: Rusticus.
1783 G. Crabbe Village ii. 27 See the stout churl, in drunken fury great.
1832 Ld. Tennyson Lady of Shalott ii, in Poems (new ed.) 11 The surly village-churls.
5. Used as a term of disparagement or contempt; base fellow, villein. In modern times usually: rude low-bred fellow.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > inferior person > [noun] > held in contempt > male
houndOE
churlc1300
pagec1385
jockeya1529
sincanterc1540
cullion1575
cur1600
swabber1612
codworm1615
bob-taila1625
pompilliona1625
duck's meata1627
swab1687
person1704
hallion1789
jackeen1810
peat1818
society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > low or vulgar person > [noun]
gadlinga1300
geggea1300
churlc1300
filec1300
jot1362
scoutc1380
beggara1400
carla1400
turnbroach14..
villainc1400
gnoffc1405
fellowc1425
cavelc1430
haskardc1487
hastardc1489
foumart1508
strummel?a1513
knapper1513
hogshead?1518
jockeya1529
dreng1535
sneakbill1546
Jack1548
rag1566
scald1575
huddle and twang1578
sneaksby1580
companion1581
lowling1581
besognier1584
patchcock1596
grill1597
sneaksbill1602
scum1607
turnspit1607
cocoloch1610
compeer1612
dust-worm1621
besonioa1625
world-worma1625
besognea1652
gippo1651
Jacky1653
mechanic1699
fustya1732
grub-worm1752
raff1778
person1782
rough scuff1816
spalpeen1817
bum1825
sculpin1834
soap-lock1840
tinka1843
'Arry1874
scruff1896
scruffo1959
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 682 Go hom swiþe, fule drit, cherl; Go heþen.
c1386 G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Prol. 460 Metillius, the foule cherl, the swyn.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 1736 Wiþ scorne alle him vnswerde And seide whi is þis cherle [Vesp. carl, Fairf. 14 carle] ferde.
1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. clxxxvii. 165 He called the noble Erle and gentil Thomas of lancastre Cherle.
1536 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 138 Come forth..horson gorbelled churryll.
1614 T. Adams Diuells Banket iv. 194 The miserable Churle..not vouchsafeing to answere.
1793 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 689 She's left the gude-fallow and taen the churl.
1821 Ld. Byron Sardanapalus i. ii. 10 Since..this churl has check'd Thy gentle spirit, go.
1841 R. W. Emerson Spiritual Laws in Ess. 1st Ser. (London ed.) 148 Graces..which are lost upon the eye of a churl.
1845 B. Disraeli Sybil III. v. iv. 54 ‘Unmannerly churl!’ exclaimed Sybil.
1874 J. Ruskin Fors Clavigera IV. 102 Sentiments which in all ages have distinguished the gentleman from the churl.
6. spec. One who is sordid, ‘hard’, or stingy in money-matters; a niggard; a miser. Cf. carl n.1[The application of churlish to Nabal in the Bible has apparently done much to make this the prevalent modern sense.]
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [noun] > niggard or mean person
nithinga1225
chinch?a1300
nigc1300
chincher1333
shut-purse1340
niggardc1384
haynec1386
nigona1400
pinchera1425
pinchpenny?c1425
pynepenya1450
pelt1511
chincherda1529
churl1535
pinchbeck1538
carl?1542
penny-father1549
nipfarthing1566
nipper?1573
holdfast1576
pinchpence1577
pinch fistc1580
pinchfart1592
shit-sticks1598
clunchfist1606
puckfist1606
sharp-nose1611
spare-good1611
crib1622
hog grubber?1626
dry-fist1633
clusterfist1652
niggardling1654
frummer1659
scrat1699
sting-hum1699
nipcheese1785
pincha1825
screw1825
wire-drawer1828
close-fist1861
penny-pincher1875
nip-skin1876
parer1887
pinch-plum1892
cheapskate1899
meanie1902
tightwad1906
stinge1914
penny-peeler1925
mean1938
stiff1967
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. xxxii. A Then shal the nygarde be no more called gentle, ner the churle lyberall.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Pivv/2 A Churle, ingratus, parcus.
a1593 H. Smith 3 Serm. (1624) 17 When the Churles barnes were full, he bade his soule take rest.
a1600 T. Deloney Pleasant Hist. Iohn Winchcomb (1619) i. sig. Aiij Was not at any time found a churle of his purse.
1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey I. 36 When a few words will rescue misery out of her distress, I hate the man who can be a churl of them.
1885 M. E. Braddon Wyllard's Weird II. i. 4 Your Parisian landlord is a churl and a niggard.
Phrases
to put a churl upon a gentleman: see quot.
ΚΠ
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue at Churl To put a churl upon a gentleman; to drink malt liquor immediately after having drank wine.
Compounds
In combinations.
a. as churl-king, churl-mind, churl-saving.
ΚΠ
1595 Polimanteia (1881) 57 More courteous then the churle-sauing Abigal.
1861 C. H. Pearson Early & Middle Ages Eng. 152 Eadwig..who was called contemptuously the churl-king, because only the people were for him.
1874 J. Ruskin Fors Clavigera IV. 103 The conception..seems ludicrous to the impotent churl mind.
b. churl's, in plant names:
churl's cress n. = churl's mustard
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Cruciferae (crucifers) > [noun] > cress
cressa700
pepperworta1500
dittany1548
sciatica cress1562
way-cresses1562
churl's cress1578
churl's mustard1578
dittander1578
cockweed1585
colt1585
green mustard1597
peasant's mustard1597
sciatica grass1597
scar-wort1657
yellow-seed1818
money tree1934
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball v. lxii. 628 The second kind [of Thlaspi] is called..in high Douche Baurn senff or Baurn kress..that is to say..Churles Cresse.
churl's mustard applied by Lyte to a cruciferous plant, probably Lepidium campestre.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Cruciferae (crucifers) > [noun] > cress
cressa700
pepperworta1500
dittany1548
sciatica cress1562
way-cresses1562
churl's cress1578
churl's mustard1578
dittander1578
cockweed1585
colt1585
green mustard1597
peasant's mustard1597
sciatica grass1597
scar-wort1657
yellow-seed1818
money tree1934
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball v. lxii. 628 I thinke it best to call [thlaspi] churles mustard.
churl's head n. Knapweed or Hardheads ( Centaurea nigra).
churl's treacle n. a species of garlic ( Allium sativum).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† churladj.
Obsolete.
Churlish. (Perhaps attributive.)
Π
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. (citing Ford).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† churlv.
Obsolete.
1. intransitive. To take a husband; cf. wive v.
ΚΠ
a1000 in B. Thorpe Anc. Laws Eng. (1840) II. 346. 19 Ðær man eft wifaþ, oððe wif eft ceorlaþ.
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxii. 30 Hig ne ceorliað [Hatton cheorliaþ] on þam æriste.
2. transitive. To play the churl or niggard towards (a person), to begrudge. Cf. churl n. 6.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > be niggardly of [verb (transitive)] > treat in niggardly manner
princhea1393
pinch1557
scantle1581
scant1607
shavea1610
niggarda1616
churl1696
nickel-and-dime1913
1696 J. Aubrey Misc. (1857) 182 You need not, says he, churle me in a piece of meat.
3. intransitive. To grumble at like a churl.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > discontent or dissatisfaction > state of complaining > complain about [verb (transitive)]
plainc1400
muse1402
plaintc1425
grudgec1450
complain1509
murmell1546
to cry out of1548
repine1577
complain1584
remonstrate1625
churl1627
bemurmur1837
holler1936
1627 W. Sclater Briefe Expos. 2 Thess. (1629) 209 Churling at Gods hand in our afflictions.
1627 W. Sclater Briefe Expos. 2 Thess. (1629) 4 Murmure, and little lesse then churle at him, if in the least sort hee afflict vs.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
<
n.a800
adj.1864v.a1000