earl
/ɝl/noun
earl is spelled E-A-R-L: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, earl means “A British or Irish nobleman next in rank above a viscount and below a marquess; equivalent to a European count. A female using the style is termed a…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of earl is earls.
How many letters and syllables are in earl?
| Letters | 4: E-A-R-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,309th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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 earl?
Earl appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,309th 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 earl?
- UK /ɜːl/
- US /ɝl/
- /ɛrl/
Earl 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-earl.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Earl.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with earl?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as earl from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹl/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: real, lear, rale, lare.
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 earl
- earls plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does earl mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A British or Irish nobleman next in rank above a viscount and below a marquess; equivalent to a European count. A female using the style is termed a countess.
- 2
Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Tanaecia. Other butterflies in this genus are called counts and viscounts.
noun
- 1
The title of an earl.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Earl in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a British or Irish nobleman:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does earl come from?
From Middle English erl, erle, from Old English eorl, from Proto-West Germanic *erl, from Proto-Germanic *erlaz (compare Old Saxon erl, Old Norse jarl), from Proto-Germanic *erōną, *arōną (compare Old Norse jara (“fight, battle”)). Doublet of eorl and jarl. Unrelated to ealdorman (“alderman”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).