English
karl
Karl comes from Old Norse karl ‘man’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *karilaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*karilaz‘free man’reconstructed
- Proto-Norsec. 200–800 CE*karilaztransliteratedrunes *ᚲᚨᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉreconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350karl‘man’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1936karl
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*karilaz‘free man’reconstructed
- Proto-Norsec. 200–800 CE*karilaztransliteratedrunes *ᚲᚨᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉreconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350karl‘man’
- Englishearliest quotation a. 1936karl
Earliest quotation: a. 1936, Ian Bernard Stoughton Holbourn, Udal Property and the Kings of Foula: “Whatever its object the runrig system was not udal…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- ‘to become old, to grow’
corn, grain, granite, kernel, grange, garner, kern, garnet, geriatrics, granary, granule, 13 more
through Proto-Germanic *karilaz ‘free man’
through Old Norse karl ‘man’
Today it means
noun A medieval Scandinavian freeman.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *karilaz / karl