n. [ OE. eorl, erl, AS. eorl man, noble; akin to OS. erl boy, man, Icel. jarl nobleman, count, and possibly to Gr. &unr_; male, Zend arshan man. Cf. Jarl. ] A nobleman of England ranking below a marquis, and above a viscount. The rank of an earl corresponds to that of a count (comte) in France, and graf in Germany. Hence the wife of an earl is still called countess. See Count. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. (Zoöl.) The needlefish. [ Ireland ] [ 1913 Webster ]
n. The lobe of the ear. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ AS. eorl-d&unr_;m; eorl man, noble + -d&unr_;m -dom. ]
He [ Pulteney ] shrunk into insignificancy and an earldom. Chesterfield. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. Alderman. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
n. (Zoöl.) The red-breasted merganser (Merganser serrator). [ 1913 Webster ]
[ Cf. Arles, 4th Earnest. ] Earnest money. Same as Arles penny. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Without ears; hence, deaf or unwilling to hear. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. [ Ear + -let. ] An earring. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
The Ismaelites were accustomed to wear golden earlets. Judg. viii. 24 (Douay version). [ 1913 Webster ]
adj. occurring at a prior time;