karl

n. a common male first name in German-speaking and Scandinavian countries.

n. a male given name of Germanic origin, equivalent to the English name Charles.

“Karl was a popular name in his family for many generations.”

“The biography of Karl Marx provides a detailed account of his intellectual development in nineteenth-century Europe.”

n. in old Viking times, a man who was free and could own land, but was not a noble.

n. a member of the class of free peasants in medieval Scandinavian society, ranking between a thrall and a jarl.

“In the old stories, a karl had the right to carry weapons and attend meetings.”

“The social hierarchy of the Viking Age distinguished clearly between the jarls who led, the karls who farmed, and the thralls who served.”

Archaic · Technical