karl

See also: Karl and kärl

Danish

Etymology

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)

1. farmhand
2. groom, ostler (a man looking after horses)
3. (informal) bloke, chap, guy

Inflection

Declension of karl

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

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Icelandic

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʰartl/, [kʰärt͡ɬ]

  listen:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /kʰatl/, [kʰät͡ɬ]

  listen:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -artl
• Rhymes: -atl

Noun

karl m (genitive singular karls, nominative plural karlar)

1. man (male human)
2. husband
3. male of a species
4. (video games) a character (in a video game, or in a RPG)
5. (chess) a chess piece, a chessman

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

• karlakór
• karlaveldi
• karldýr
• karlfauskur
• karlkyn
• karlleggur
• karlmaður
• karlmannlegur
• karlmenni
• karlmennska
• karlremba

 

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse karl.

Noun

karl m

1. Template:alt spelling

References

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

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Old Norse

Alternative forms

• kall

Etymology

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

Noun

karl m

1. a man

Declension

  Declension of karl (strong a-stem)

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

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 (Bokmål), kar (Nynorsk)
• Old Swedish: karilʀ
  • Swedish: karl
• Elfdalian: kall
• Danish: karl
• Jamtish: kall, karr (< *karaz)
• (< *karaz)
• ⇒ Old Norse: Karl (given name)
  • 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: Karly, 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

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Swedish

Etymology

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

1. man (male human)
2. husband
3. (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
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	karl	karlen	karlar	karlarna
Genitive	karls	karlens	karlars	karlarnas

See also

• karl för sin hatt
• karlakarl

Anagrams

• klar