Added 10 October 2026
merle
/mɜːl/ noun
Latin root: merula Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about merle at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
noun
- A type of mottled coloration on dogs.
- A dog having this coloration.
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)