merle

merle · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₂mes-“black, blackbird”
2. Latin · derived frommerula“blackbird”
3. Old French · derived frommerle
4. Middle English · inherited frommerle
5. English todaymerle

From Middle English merle, from Old French merle (French merle), from Latin merula (“blackbird”) (whence the directly borrowed Middle English merule, and compare the taxonomic name Turdus merula), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂mes- (“black, blackbird”). Compare Breton moualch (“ouzel”), Welsh mwyalch (“blackbird, thrush”). Distantly related to the synonymous ouzel.

Merle · proper noun²

1. French · borrowed fromMerle
2. French · borrowed fromMerle
3. English todayMerle

Borrowed from French Merle.

Merle · proper noun³

English 19th-century bird name from merle (“blackbird”), possibly also a variant of Muriel, Merrill, etc.

Words from the same roots