Where does “Merle” come from?

Merle comes from French merle, a blackbird, though the ultimate origin and meaning development remain uncertain.

Merle (English): of origin

Definitions

  1. of origin

Ancestry of “Merle”, step by step

Merle traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English merle

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmerle—
2Old Frenchmerle—
3Latinmerulablackbird; wrasse
4Proto-Italicmeselā—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ems-to give birth, beget

via French Merle

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchMerleblackbird

Words derived from “Merle”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ems- →