Standard Lemma guide

jarl

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /jɑɹl̩/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /jɑːl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)l

1

noun

Meaning 1

A medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *erlaz Proto-Norse ᛖᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉ (erilaʀ) Old Norse jarlbor. English jarl From Old Norse jarl, from Proto-Norse ᛖᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉ (erilaʀ). Cognates include Old English eorl. Doublet of earl and eorl.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Danish: jarl — medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark
  • Faroese: jallur — medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark
  • Finnish: jaarli — medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark
  • German: Jarl — medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark
  • Icelandic: jarl — medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark
  • Marathi: यार्ल (yārla) — medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark
  • Norwegian Bokmål: jarl — medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: jarl — medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark
  • Old Norse: jarl — medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark
  • Polish: jarl — medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark
  • Proto-Norse: ᛖᚱᛁᛚᚨᛉ (erilaʀ) — medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark
  • Russian: ярл (jarl) — medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark
  • Swedish: jarl — medieval Scandinavian nobleman, especially in Norway and Denmark