karl

See also: Karl and kärl

Danish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Norse karl (“man”), from Proto-Norse ᚲᚨᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉ (karilaʀ), from Proto-Germanic *karilaz, cognate with English churl, German Kerl, Dutch kerel.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kaːˀl/, [ˈkʰæˀl]

Noun

karl c (singular definite karlen, plural indefinite karle)

farmhand (a man working at a farm)
groom, ostler (a man looking after horses)
(informal) bloke, chap, guy

Declension

Declension of karl

common gender	Singular		Plural
common gender	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	karl	karlen	karle	karlene
genitive	karls	karlens	karles	karlenes

Icelandic

Etymology

Inherited from Old Norse karl, from Proto-Norse ᚲᚨᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉ (karilaʀ), from Proto-Germanic *karilaz.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kʰa(r)tl/

(Northern Iceland, Southern Iceland) IPA^(key): [kʰɐ(r)tɬ], [kʰɐ(ɾ)tɬ].
Rhymes: -artl, -atl

(Reykjavik) IPA^(key): [kʰɐɾtɬ]
- Audio: (file)

(Reykjavik) IPA^(key): [kʰɐtːɬ]
- Audio: (file)

Noun

karl m (genitive singular karls, nominative plural karlar)

man (male human)
husband
male (of a species)
(video games) a character (in a video game, or in a RPG)
(chess) chess piece, chessman

Declension

Declension of karl (masculine)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	karl	karlinn	karlar	karlarnir
accusative	karl	karlinn	karla	karlana
dative	karli	karlinum	körlum	körlunum
genitive	karls	karlsins	karla	karlanna

Synonyms

(man): karlmaður m, maður m
(husband): eiginmaður m, maður m
(male of a species): karldýr n
(a character): persóna f, tölvuleikapersóna f
(chess piece): taflmaður m, maður m

Derived terms

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Inherited from Old Norse karl.

Noun

karl m

Alternative spelling of kall

References

“karl” in Ivar Aasen (1873) Norsk Ordbog med dansk Forklaring

Old Norse

Alternative forms

kall

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Norse ᚲᚨᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉ (karilaʀ), from Proto-Germanic *karilaz. Compare Old English ċeorl, ċiorl, Old High German karal, karl.

Noun

karl m

man
freeman; one belonging to the social class between slaves and nobles
- c. 900, Vitgeirr the sorcerer, loose stanza
  Þat’s vǫ́ lítil, · at vér síðim
  karla bǫrn · ok kerlinga,
  es Rǫgnvaldr síðr · réttilbeini
  hróðmǫgr Haralds · á Haðalandi.
  It's little harm that we should practice sorcery,
  the children of peasants and their wives,
  when Rainwald ‘straight-leg’ practices sorcery,
  Harold’s famous son, in Hadeland.

Declension

Declension of karl (strong a-stem)

masculine	singular		plural
masculine	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	karl	karlinn	karlar	karlarnir
accusative	karl	karlinn	karla	karlana
dative	karli	karlinum	kǫrlum	kǫrlunum
genitive	karls	karlsins	karla	karlanna

Coordinate terms

kerling f (“woman, wife of a freeman”)
þræll f (“slave”)
jarl f (“nobleman, earl”)

Derived terms

akrgerðikarl m (“ploughman, reaper”)
arftǫkukarl m (“one taken as someone who has made another his heir”)
augnakarl m (“pan of the hip-joint”)
barnakarl m (“a children's friend”)
bragðakarl m (“sly fellow”)
búandkarl m (“farmer”)
búkarl m (“farmer”)
ellikarl m (“old man”)
ferjukarl m (“ferryman”)
fretkarl m (“contemptible fellow”)
heljarkarl m (“one doomed to die, accursed”)
hærukarl m (“hoary (old) man”)
hórkarl m (“adulterer”)
húskarl m (“housecarl”)
karlafolk n (“male folk”)
karlafǫt n pl (“men's attire”)
karlasæti n (“seat for men”)
karldyrr f pl (“the men's door”)
karlefni n (“a promising lad”)
karlfjǫldi m (“multitude of men”)
karlfǫt n pl
karlgildr (“as good as a man”)
karlhǫfuð n (“a man's head (carved)”)
karlhǫfði m (“a carved man's head, figurehead”)
karlkenndr (“masculine”)
karlklæði n (“men's clothes”)
karlkostr m (“a (good) match”)
karlkyn n (“the male sex”)
karlleggr m (“agnates”)
karlmaðr m (“man”)
karlmennska f (“manhood, valour”)
karlsift (“on the male side”)
karlsvipt f (“relationship by descent on the male side”)
kerling f
kolakarl m (“charcoal-maker”)
kotkarl m (“cottager”)
okrkarl m (“usurer”)
plógkarl m (“ploughman”)
saltkarl m (“salt-burner”)
skrafkarl m (“chatterbox”)
skrattakarl m (“vile wizard”)
skítkarl m (“dirty fellow”)
stafkarl m (“poor beggar”)
sækarl m (“sea-carl”)
trollkarl m (“male troll”)
vagnkarl m (“wagoner”)
varðkarl m (“warder”)
vatnkarl m (“jug”)
villukarl m (“heretic”)
vitakarl m (“beacon watchman”)
þorpkarl m (“churl”)

Descendants

Icelandic: karl
Faroese: kallur
Norwegian: kall, kar
- → Danish: kar
  - Norwegian Bokmål: kar
Jamtish: kall, karr (< *karaz)
Elfdalian: kall
Old Swedish: karilʀ^[1]^[2]
- Swedish: karl
Danish: karl, kal
- Norwegian Bokmål: kall
⇒ Old Norse: Karl (given name)^[3]
- Icelandic: Karl, Carl
- Faroese: Karl
- Norwegian: Karl, Carl
- Old Swedish: Karl
  - Swedish: Karl, Carl
- Old Danish: Karl
  - Danish: Karl, Carl
    - → Greenlandic: Karl, Kaarali, Kaarale
- ⇒ Old Norse: Karli, Karle, Kalli (diminutive)
  - Icelandic: Karli
  - Norwegian: Karle, Kalle, Calle
  - Old Swedish: Karle, Kalle
    - Swedish: Karli, Karle, Carli, Carlie, Karly, Kalle, Calle
      - → Estonian: Kalle
  - Old Danish: Karli
    - Danish: Karli, Karly, Kalle, Calle
      - → Greenlandic: Kaali
  - → Finnish: Karli, Karle, Kaarle, Kalle, Kale, Kali, Kalla, Kallu
    - → Estonian: Kalle
    - → Swedish: Kaarle
  - → Sami: Gállá, Kálle
- → English: Karl, Carl
  - → Cebuano: Karl, Carl
- → Finnish: Karl
- → Sami: Kárral
→ Middle English: carl
- Scots: carl, cairl, karl
- English: carl

References

“karl”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

^ The Journal of English and Germanic Philology. Volume II. 237th page.
^ Antiqvarisk Tidskrift för Sverige. Tionde Delen. 1887-1891. 305th page.
^ Pfaff, Judith (2018). Nordic Names. Web.

Swedish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Swedish karilʀ, from Old Norse karl, from Proto-Norse ᚲᚨᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉ (karilaʀ), from Proto-Germanic *karilaz.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kɑːr/
Audio: (file)
Homophone: kar

Noun

karl c

man (male human)
Synonym: man

Bra karl reder sig själv
A good man manages on his own (proverb)
- 1970, “Sjörövar-Fabbe [Pirate Fabbe (pet form of Fabian)]”, Astrid Lindgren (lyrics), Georg Riedel (music)‎^[1]:
  Sjörövar-Fabbe, farfars far, är minsann en sjusärdeles karl. Kring alla hav han far och far, tjohej hadelittan lej.
  Pirate Fabbe, my great-grandfather, is indeed a remarkable man [or "one hell of a man," except not vulgar]. Around all the seas he sails [goes/travels] and sails, tjohej hadelittan lej [nonsense phrase].
- 1972, Ted Gärdestad (lyrics and music), “Jag vill ha en egen måne [I want a moon of my own]”‎^[2]:
  Du har då aldrig trott på tårar. Det passar inte för en karl. Om man är över femton vårar, finns inga känslor kvar.
  You have never believed in tears [The "då" roughly works as an emphasizer: "Well, you have ..."]. It doesn't suit a man. If you are over fifteen years old [over fifteen springs], there are no feelings left.
husband
Synonyms: man, make
(male) member of a work force, employed to perform some particularly heavy or physically demanding job

Usage notes

Has connotations of being manly, and is as such somewhat frowned upon by certain feminists; but it also may have connotations of being able to perform a certain task. Compare the formulaic expression karl för sin ... (with some attribute), which denotes someone who is up to par with his role, and is able to perform at least by some minimal standards on his own. Here the role is usually something associated with the given attribute, though karl för sin hatt is associated with a more generic male role.

Declension

Declension of karl

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	karl	karls
singular	definite	karlen	karlens
plural	indefinite	karlar	karlars
plural	definite	karlarna	karlarnas

Derived terms

References

Anagrams

klar

[egp-1] The Journal of English and Germanic Philology. Volume II. 237th page.

[2] Antiqvarisk Tidskrift för Sverige. Tionde Delen. 1887-1891. 305th page.

[3] Pfaff, Judith (2018). Nordic Names. Web.

[1]

[2]

[3]