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noun

churl

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Churl (noun) means In the past, a free countryman of the lowest social class, or more generally, an ordinary person with no noble rank.

noun
1
In the past, a free countryman of the lowest social class, or more generally, an ordinary person with no noble rank.
2
A serf; someone bound in service to a lord.
3
A rude person with bad manners.
4
A person who lives in the countryside; a peasant.
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Etymology

Inherited from West Midland Middle English churle (“person not of the nobility or clergy; serf, servant, simpleton, fellow”, East Midland Middle English cherl), from Old English ċeorl (“freeman ranking below a þegn but above a thrall; commoner, peasant; countryman, husbandman; man; husband”), from Proto-West Germanic *kerl, from Proto-Germanic *karilaz (“elder; man”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- (“to grow old; to mature”). Doublet of carl /carle, ceorl, and karl. Sense 2.1 (“rough, surly, ill-bred person”) is probably an extension of sense 1 (“free peasant of the lowest rank; person without royal or noble status; bondman, serf”) and sense 2.2 (“countryman, peasant, rustic”). Sense 2.3 (“person who is stingy”) was influenced by Nabal, who is described in the King James Version of the Bible as “churlish and evil in his doings”; when Nabal, a rich man, is asked to give provisions to David’s men, he replies, “Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? There be many servants nowadays that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men, whom I know not whence they be?” (1 Samuel 25:

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Frequently asked questions

What is the meaning of churl?
"churl" (noun) means in the past, a free countryman of the lowest social class, or more generally, an ordinary person with no noble rank.
What is another word for churl?
Other words for "churl" include peasant, crosspatch, crank, Goth, barbarian, grouch.
What is the opposite of churl?
The opposite of "churl" is patrician.
What are the different meanings of churl?
"churl" has 3 main meanings: 1. In the past, a free countryman of the lowest social class, or more generally, an ordinary person with no noble rank; 2. A serf; someone bound in service to a lord; 3. A rude person with bad manners.

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