Etymograph

English

churlish

Churlish comes from Middle English cherlisch ‘Churlish, surly’, from Proto-Germanic *karilaz ‘free man’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- ‘to grow old, to mature’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵerh₂-1‘to grow old, to mature’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*karaz1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*karilaz1‘free man’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*karil1‘free peasant, churl’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150ċeorl1‘a churl, a freeman ranked below a thane but above a thrall’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150ċeorlisċ1‘of or pertaining to churls’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cherlisch1‘Churlish, surly’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1605churlish1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English churlish
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1605, Francis Bacon, The First Booke: “[A]nd it is without all controuerſie, that learning doth…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵerh₂-Wiktionary, English churlish‘to grow old, to mature’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*karazWiktionary, English churlishreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*karilazWiktionary, English churlish‘free man’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*karilWiktionary, English churlish‘free peasant, churl’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150ċeorlWiktionary, English churlish‘a churl, a freeman ranked below a thane but above a thrall’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150ċeorlisċWiktionary, English churlish‘of or pertaining to churls’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500cherlischWiktionary, English churlish‘Churlish, surly’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1605churlishWiktionary, English churlish. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1605, Francis Bacon, The First Booke: “[A]nd it is without all controuerſie, that learning doth…”

Formed from churl + -ish

Proto-Germanic *karilaz ‘elder’

Proto-West Germanic *kerl

Old English ċeorl ‘freeman ranking below a þegn but above a thrall’

West Midland Middle English churle ‘person not of the nobility or clergy’

English churl

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- ‘to grow old, to mature’

corn, grain, granite, kernel, garner, grange, garnet, kern, granary, geriatrics, granule, 12 more

through Proto-Germanic *karilaz ‘free man’

carl, karl, 4 more

Today it means

adj Of or pertaining to a serf, peasant, or rustic.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “churlish”. 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-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- / churlish

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