Jarls

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A nobleman or warrior of high rank in Scandinavian cultures, often ruling over a territory or having dominion over a group of people
2. A title of nobility in ancient Norse societies, representing a leader or chief with authority, especially in a clan or tribe
3. An aristocratic figure in historical Viking societies, signifying a person of significant influence and power within their community

Etymology: The word "jarls" is simply the plural of "jarl", so it names more than one holder of that title. "Jarl" came into English from Old Norse, the language of the Vikings and their Scandinavian relatives, where it meant a man of high rank who ruled a district under a king. Its ancestor, the Proto-Norse "erilaʀ", is the same root that gave Old English its word "eorl", and the two are doublets: a single source that reached English twice, once through Scandinavian contact and once through the older Anglo-Saxon line. That second path is the surprising part. The English word "earl" descends from Old English "eorl", so "earl" and "jarl" are close cousins. Both began as words for a warrior or nobleman, and the Old English form lost ground after the Norman Conquest, when French titles displaced it, leaving "earl" as the English term for a comparable rank in the peerage. "Jarl" survived mainly in its Scandinavian setting, which is why it still sounds foreign to English ears.

Synonyms: nobles, lords