The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Needlefish \Nee"dle*fish`\, n. (Zool.)
      (a) The European great pipefish (Siphostoma acus or
          Syngnathus acus); -- called also earl, and
          tanglefish.
      (b) The garfish.
          [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Earl \Earl\, n. [OE. eorl, erl, AS. eorl man, noble; akin to OS.
   erl boy, man, Icel. jarl nobleman, count, and possibly to Gr.
   ? 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]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Earl \Earl\, n. (Zo["o]l.)
   The needlefish. [Ireland]
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

earl
    n 1: a British peer ranking below a marquess and above a
         viscount

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

39 Moby Thesaurus words for "earl":
   Brahman, archduke, aristocrat, armiger, baron, baronet, blue blood,
   count, daimio, duke, esquire, gentleman, grand duke, grandee,
   hidalgo, lace-curtain, laird, landgrave, lord, lordling, magnate,
   magnifico, margrave, marquis, noble, nobleman, optimate, palsgrave,
   patrician, peer, seigneur, seignior, silk-stocking, squire, swell,
   thoroughbred, upper-cruster, viscount, waldgrave



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

EARL, Eng. law. A title of nobility next below a marquis and above a
viscount.
     2. Earls were anciently called comites, because they were wont comitari
regem, to wait upon the king for counsel and advice. He was also called
shireman, because each earl had the civil government of a shire.
     3. After the Norman conquest they were called counts, whence the shires
obtained the names of counties. They have now nothing to do with the
government of counties, which has entirely devolved on the sheriff, the
earl's deputy, or vice comes.



U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000):

Earl, NC -- U.S. town in North Carolina
   Population (2000):    234
   Housing Units (2000): 109
   Land area (2000):     0.819678 sq. miles (2.122956 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    0.819678 sq. miles (2.122956 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            19140
   Located within:       North Carolina (NC), FIPS 37
   Location:             35.195465 N, 81.534663 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Earl, NC
    Earl