churl
Pronunciation Noun
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Pronunciation Noun
churl (plural churls)
- A rustic; a countryman or labourer; a free peasant (as opposed to a serf).
- 1858, Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Adirondacs":
- Your rank is all reversed; let men of cloth
- Bow to the stalwart churls in overalls:
- They are the doctors of the wilderness,
- And we the low-priced laymen.
- 1859 George Meredith, The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, Chapter 9:
- “A see T’m Baak’ll,” the Bantam recommenced, and again the contortions of a horrible wink were directed at Richard. The boy might well believe this churl was lying, and he did, and was emboldened to exclaim—
- “You never saw Tom Bakewell set fire to that rick!”
- 1858, Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Adirondacs":
- A rough, surly, ill-bred person; a boor.
- A churl's courtesy rarely comes, but either for gain or falsehood.
- A selfish miser; an illiberal person; a niggard.
- 1594, Michael Drayton. "The Legend of Miltilda the Fair":
- like to some rich churl hoarding up his pelf […] }
- 1597, William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (Quarto I), [Act V, sc. 3] (Juliet to poison that killed Romeo):
- Ah churle drinke all, and leaue no drop for me.
- 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 1:
- Within thine own bud buriest they content
- And, tender churl, mak'st waste in niggarding.
- 1611, King James Version, Isaiah 32:5:
- The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.
- 1768, Laurence Sterne, A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, "Calais":
- […] when a few words will rescue misery out of her distress, I hate the man who can be a churl of them.
- 1594, Michael Drayton. "The Legend of Miltilda the Fair":
- (Theodism) A freedman, ranked below a thane but above a thrall.
- German: Kerl
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.004