Word.ws English Dictionary

earle

earle is the archaic spelling of earl.

Meaning of earl

Noun

earl (plural earls)

  1. A British or Irish nobleman next in rank above a viscount and below a marquess; equivalent to a European count. A female using the style is termed a countess.
  2. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Tanaecia. Other butterflies in this genus are called counts and viscounts.

See all 10 meanings of earl

Proper noun capitalized: Earle

Earle

  1. A surname originating as an occupation, variant of Earl.
    • Upon reading this, General Washington said, "Mr Earle, your name is not correctly spelled. E-a-r-l is a title of nobility; you should add an e to it."1898, Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, page 162
    • TikTok star Alix Earle confirmed her relationship with Braxton Berrios in November 2023 after many months of rumors and sightings.2025 December 8, Aimée Lutkin, Briannah Rivera, “All About Alix Earle’s Ex-Boyfriend, Braxton Berrios”, in Elle, archived from the original on 10 Dec 2025
  2. (US) A male given name transferred from the surname.
  3. (US) A male given name, variant of Earl.
  4. A hamlet and large civil parish (without a council) in northern Northumberland, England (OS grid ref NT9826).
  5. A city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States.
  6. An unincorporated community in Scott Township, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States.

Forms of earle

pluralearles

Words formed from earle

Questions about earle

What does earle mean?
Earle means a surname originating as an occupation, variant of Earl.
What is earle the archaic spelling of?
Earle is the archaic spelling of earl.
What part of speech is earle?
Earle is a proper noun.

Words near earle in the dictionary

  1. earlaps
  2. earldom
  3. earldoms
  4. earldorman
  5. earldormen
  6. earle
  7. Earlene
  8. earles
  9. earless
  10. earless dragon
  11. earless dragons

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: earle (page history and authors); Earle (page history and authors); earl (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “earle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/earle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.