Where does “Merlin” come from?

Merlin comes from Old French Merlin, of unknown ultimate origin.

Merlin (English): A wizard in the Arthurian legend

Definitions

  1. A wizard in the Arthurian legend

Ancestry of “Merlin”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishmerliounmerlin the falcon
2Old Frenchemerillon—
3Old Frenchesmerillon—
4Old Frenchesmeril—
5Italiansmeriglioemery; merlin; Synonym of sparviero
6Greekσμερίλιον—
7Ancient Greekσμερί—
8Ancient Greekσμύριςemery-powder, used by lapidaries

Words derived from “Merlin”

Every word from Ancient Greek σμύρις →Every word from Ancient Greek σμερί →Every word from Greek σμερίλιον →