merlon

merlon · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₂ems-“black; blackbird”
2. Latin · derived frommerula“blackbird”
3. Late Latin · derived frommerulus
4. Italian · derived frommerlone“merlon”
5. French · borrowed frommerlon
6. English todaymerlon

Borrowed from French merlon, from Italian merlone (“merlon”), from merlo (“merlon”) + -one (suffix forming augmentatives). Merlo is derived from Late Latin merulus, merlus, possibly from Latin merula (“blackbird”) (as merlons resemble a row of birds perched on a wall), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ems- (“black; blackbird”). The English word is cognate with Italian mergolo (“battlement; pinnacle”), Portuguese merlão, Spanish merlón (“merlon”).

merlon · noun²

A variant of merlin.

Words from the same roots