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Origin and history of Karl

Karl

see Carl.

Entries linking to Karl

carl(n.)

c. 1300, "bondsman; common man, man of low birth," from Old Norse karl "man" (as opposed to "woman"), "male, freeman," from Proto-Germanic *karlon- (source also of Dutch karel "a fellow," Old High German karl "a man, husband"). The same Proto-Germanic source produced Old English ceorl "man of low degree" (see churl) and the masc. proper name Carl and, via French and Latin, Charles.

The Mellere was a stout carle for the nones [Chaucer]
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    Trends of Karl

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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    Marxist
    1886, "a devotee of the teachings of German political theorist Karl Marx" (1818-1883), from French marxiste....The adjective, "of or pertaining to the socialist doctrines and theories of Karl Marx," is attested from 1884....The alternative adjectival form Marxian (1887 in reference to Karl Marx) sometimes is used (1940, by Groucho, among others...
    Mercedes-Benz
    The Benz is from the other company, from name of Karl Benz, creator of the Benz Patent Motorwagen (1886)....
    bipolar
    use in reference to what had been called manic-depressive psychosis is said to have begun 1957 with German psychiatrist Karl...
    Munchausen
    in reference to unbelievable stories, 1850, from the name of Baron Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen (1720-1797),...
    were
    The forms illustrate Verner's Law (named for Danish linguist Karl Verner, 1875), which predicts the "s" to "z" sound shift...
    Oedipus
    Oedipus effect (1957) is Karl Popper's term for "the self-fulfilling nature of prophecies or predictions."...
    ideology
    It was only after the appearance of Karl Marx's long unpublished The German Ideology and Karl Mannheim's Ideology and Utopia...
    dwarf
    Old English dweorh, dweorg (West Saxon), duerg (Mercian), "very short human being, person much below ordinary stature, whether of proportionate parts or not," also "supernatural being of subhuman size," from Proto-Germanic *dweraz (source also of Old Frisian dwerch, Old Saxon dwe
    supplant
    c. 1300, supplaunten, "dispossess, acquire (a position from someone) by strategy or scheming" (implied in agent noun supplanter), from Old French suplanter, sosplanter "to trip up, overthrow, drive out, usurp," or directly from Latin supplantare "trip up, overthrow," from assimil
    toy
    c. 1300, "amorous playing, sport," later "piece of fun or entertainment" (c. 1500), "thing of little value, trifle" (1520s), and "thing for a child to play with" (1580s). Of uncertain origin, and there may be more than one word here. Compare Middle Dutch toy, Dutch tuig "tools, a

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