merle
English edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
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.
Noun edit
merle (plural merles)
- The Eurasian blackbird, Turdus merula.
- Any blackbird.
Translations edit
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Etymology 2 edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun edit
merle (countable and uncountable, plural merles)
- A type of mottled coloration on dogs.
- A dog having this coloration.
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Latin merula, the word for the male blackbird being mostly female until the 16th century.[1] Probable influence of the Late Latin masculine form merulus (compare Italian merlo, Spanish mirlo).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
merle m (plural merles, feminine merlesse or merlette)
Synonyms edit
- (blackbird): (Louisiana) tchoque
Derived terms edit
References edit
- ^ “merle”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams edit
Italian edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
merle f
Middle English edit
Noun edit
merle
- Alternative form of marle