Charles
English
Etymology
From French Charles, from Old French Charles, Carles, from Latin Carolus, from and also reinfluenced by Old High German Karl, from Proto-Germanic *karlaz (“free man”); compare the English word churl and the German Kerl.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /t͡ʃɑɹlz/, /t͡ʃɑ˞lz/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /t͡ʃɑːlz/
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)lz
Proper noun
Charles (countable and uncountable, plural Charleses)
- A male given name from the Germanic languages.
- 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene ii]:
- Charles the Great / Subdued the Saxons, and did seat the French / Beyond the river Sala, in the year / Eight hundred five.
- 1844 Edgar Allan Poe: Thou Art the Man:
- […] there never was any person named Charles who was not an open, manly, honest, good-natured, and frank-hearted fellow, with a rich, clear, voice, that did you good to hear it, and an eye that looked at you always straight at the face, as much as to say: "I have a clear conscience myself, am afraid of no man, and am altogether above doing a mean action." And thus all the hearty, careless, 'walking gentlemen' of the stage are very certain to be called Charles.
- 1988 Ed McBain: The House That Jack Built: page 212:
- […] spoke the way the English do, funny, you know? His name was Roger, I think. Or Nigel. Something like that." "How about Charles?" "Charles? Well, yes, it could have been.Charles does sound English, doesn't it? Their prince is named Charles, isn't he?"
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- A surname originating as a patronymic.
- A hamlet in East and West Buckland parish, North Devon district, Devon, England (OS grid ref SS6832).
- A neighbourhood of Providence, Rhode Island, United States.
Usage notes
Common given name since the Middle Ages.
Synonyms
- Chas. (abbreviation)
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
given name
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Statistics
- According to the 2010 United States Census, Charles is the 548th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 61,211 individuals. Charles is most common among Black (53.0%) individuals.
Cebuano
Etymology
From English Charles, from French Charles, from Old French Charles, Carles, from Latin Carolus, from and also reinfluenced by Old High German Karl, from Proto-Germanic *karlaz (“free man”).
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:Charles.
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃaʁl/
Audio (file)
Derived terms
Portuguese
Swedish
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