carl
/kɑɹl̩/noun
carl is spelled C-A-R-L: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, carl means “A rude, rustic man; a churl” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of carl is carls.
How many letters and syllables are in carl?
| Letters | 4: C-A-R-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,752nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is carl?
Carl appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce carl?
- /kɑːl/
- US /kɑɹl̩/
- /kɑrəl/
Carl has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-carl.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Carl.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with carl?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as carl from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of carl
- carls plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- carling participle, present
- carled participle, past
- carle
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does carl mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A rude, rustic man; a churl.
- 2
ScotlandobsoleteA stingy person; a niggard.
noun
- 1
informalA student at Carleton College, Minnesota.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo snarl; to talk grumpily or gruffly.
[…] full of ache, sorrow, and grief, children again, dizzards, they carle many times as they sit, and talk to themselves, they are angry, waspish, displeased with everything […]
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does carl come from?
From Middle English carl, from Old English carl, a borrowing from Old Norse karl (“man, husband”), from Proto-Germanic *karilaz. Doublet of ceorl, churl, and karl.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).