English
carl
Carl comes from Old Norse karl ‘man, husband’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *karilaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*karilaz1‘free man’reconstructed
- Proto-Norsec. 200–800 CE*karilaz2transliteratedrunes *ᚲᚨᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉreconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350karl1‘man, husband’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150carl1‘a freeman, a man of middle rank or social class’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500carl1‘a serf or peasant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1974carl1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English carl
- 2 Wiktionary, Old Norse karl
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1974, Guy Davenport: “In Lent noblemen and carls alike had got into…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*karilazWiktionary, English carl‘free man’reconstructed
- Proto-Norsec. 200–800 CE*karilazWiktionary, Old Norse karltransliteratedrunes *ᚲᚨᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉreconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350karlWiktionary, English carl‘man, husband’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150carlWiktionary, English carl‘a freeman, a man of middle rank or social class’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500carlWiktionary, English carl‘a serf or peasant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1974carlWiktionary, English carl. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1974, Guy Davenport: “In Lent noblemen and carls alike had got into…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- ‘to become old, to grow’
corn, grain, granite, kernel, grange, garner, kern, garnet, geriatrics, granary, granule, 12 more
through Proto-Germanic *karilaz ‘free man’
through Old Norse karl ‘man, husband’
Today it means
noun A rude, rustic man; a churl.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “carl”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old Norse karl. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *karilaz / carl