earl

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a British or Irish nobleman ranking below a marquess and above a viscount, equivalent in rank to a count

   The earl inherited the title and its associated estates from his father.

From Old English eorl ("nobleman, warrior"), cognate with Old Norse jarl. After the Norman Conquest, earl became the English title corresponding to continental count; the wife or female holder of the rank is a countess.

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