The story
- Proto-Indo-European · derived from*mer-
- Proto-Germanic · derived from*mairōną“to moor, fasten to”
- Middle Dutch · derived frommarlijn“cord”
- Middle Low German · derived frommarling
- Middle English · inherited frommerlin
- English todaymarline
From Middle English merlin, from Middle Low German marling, from Middle Dutch marlijn (“cord”), from marlen (“secure, fasten”), frequentative of maren (“to moor”), from Proto-Germanic *mairōną (“to moor, fasten to”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer-.
Words from the same roots
Proto-Indo-European*mer- all →
murdermeremullermaramorbiditymorbidmammermulleredmurth
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.