Churlish
/ˈtʃɜːr.lɪʃ/noun
Rude, mean-spirited, or lacking in grace and refinement.
Did you know?In Old English, a ceorl was simply a free peasant or common man, but by the Middle Ages the word had been socially poisoned into the insult churl, showing how status can rewrite a word’s soul.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*karlaz
“free man, man of the lower class”
Old English
OE
ceorl
“free peasant, man of the lowest social rank”
Old English
OE
ceorlisc
“of or relating to a ceorl; rustic, peasant-like”
Middle English
ME
churlish
“boorish, rude, mean-spirited”
Modern English
English
churlish
“rude, surly, or difficult to deal with”