merlette

mer·lette
M3E1R1L1E1T1T1E1
UK/məːˈlɛt/US/mɚˈlɛt/

noun

In French heraldry, a depiction of a mythological bird without beak or feet.

OriginMiddle English [Term?] ← Anglo-Norman merlet ← Middle French merlette →
Scrabble 10
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Meanings

nounmerlette (plural merlettes)

plural merlettes

  1. governmentIn French heraldry, a depiction of a mythological bird without beak or feet.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ems-“black; blackbird”
  2. Latinmerula“blackbird”
  3. Middle Frenchmerlette“little blackbird; merlette (heraldic charge)”
  4. Anglo-Normanmerlet
  5. Middle English[Term?]
  6. Englishmerlette

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”).

More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Middle French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

merlette. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/merlette

MLA

“merlette.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/merlette. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “merlette,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/merlette.

Source: merlette on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.