churlish
/ˈt͡ʃɝːlɪʃ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.19 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of or pertaining to a serf, peasant, or rustic.
adj
Rude, surly, ungracious.
adj
Difficult to till, lacking pliancy; unmanageable.
Example Sentences
- "[…] the eloquence and truth of his tribute stands in marked contrast to Kramer's churlish caricature of Kael as a happy pig wallowing in the dirt."
- "[A]nd it is without all controuerſie, that learning doth make the minds of men gentle, generous, maniable, and pliant to gouernment; whereas Ignorance makes them churliſh, thwart, and mutinous; […]"
- "A Churliſh Envious Curr vvas gotten into a Manger, and there lay Growling and Snarling to keep the Horſes from their Provender. The Dog Eat None himſelf, and yet rather Ventur'd the Starving his Own Carcaſe then he would ſuffer any thing elfe to be the Better for't."
- "“Please, can't you just leave the child with Huggie?” “Stop calling him "the child," Richard! His name is Rocket! And I'm not leaving him with your crappy robot!” “Sally! Why, that's almost churlish. And you're visible! What's this really about?” “You can't replace family with a robot, Richard. We need real human affection!” “That's why Huggie's programmed to simulate it, sweetness.” “[groans] Please, Richard, let me go.” “Yes, yes, perhaps the fresh air will, uh, calm the female --” “Don't strain yourself, Richard. Good bye.”"
- "Especially in the post-2008 recession, the need for charity was more pronounced than ever, and so it seemed churlish, even Scrooge-like, to question whether the Gateses really knew as much about solving the world’s problems as they claimed."
- "1730–1774, Oliver Goldsmith, Introductory to Switzerland Where the bleak Swiss their stormy mansion tread, And force a churlish soil for scanty bread."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂-der. Proto-Germanic *karaz Proto-Germanic *karilaz Proto-West Germanic *karil Old English ċeorl Proto-Indo-European *-iskos Proto-Germanic *-iskaz Proto-West Germanic *-isk Old English -isċ Old English ċeorlisċ Middle English cherlisch English churlish From Middle English cherlisch, cherlissh, from late Old English ċeorlisċ, ċierlisċ (“of or pertaining to churls”), equivalent to churl + -ish. Piecewise doublet of ceorlish.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: cherlisch, ċeorlisċ
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈt͡ʃɝːlɪʃ/
- British English: /ˈtʃɜːlɪʃ/
Inflected Forms
more churlish (comparative)
most churlish (superlative)