Where does “Merle” come from?

Merle (German) comes from English Merle, from Middle English merle, from Old French merle, from Latin merula, from Proto-Italic meselā, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ems- — to give birth, beget.

Merle (German): blackbird, ouzel

Definitions

  1. blackbird, ouzel

Ancestry of “Merle”, step by step

Merle traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Merle

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMerleof origin
2Middle Englishmerle—
3Old Frenchmerle—
4Latinmerulablackbird; wrasse
5Proto-Italicmeselā—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ems-to give birth, beget

via Middle High German merle

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanmerle—
2Old High Germanmerla—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ems- →