Plural of earl; high-ranking British noblemen who are below a marquis but above a viscount in the social hierarchy.
From Old English 'eorl,' originally meaning 'man of noble birth' or 'warrior.' The word comes from Germanic roots and was used in Anglo-Saxon England before Norman nobility titles were introduced.
Earls are one of the few English noble titles that survived the Norman Conquest—it's so old that even Vikings would have recognized it! Interestingly, 'earl' might be related to the word 'warrior,' which is why old nobles were often military leaders.
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