merlette

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₂ems-“black; blackbird”
2. Latin · derived frommerula“blackbird”
3. Middle French · derived frommerlette“little blackbird; merlette (heraldic charge)”
4. Anglo-Norman · derived frommerlet
5. Middle English · inherited from[Term?]
6. English todaymerlette

From Late Middle English [Term?], from Anglo-Norman merlet (from merle (“blackbird”) + -et (“suffix forming a noun”)), or from Middle French merlette (“little blackbird; merlette (heraldic charge)”) (from merle (“blackbird”)—formerly a feminine noun) + -ette (“diminutive suffix for a feminine noun”). Merle is from Latin merula (“blackbird”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ems- (“black; blackbird”).

Words from the same roots