Etymology of the French word merle
the Old French word
merlederived from the Latin word
merula (blackbird; a dark-colored fish, the wrasse)
derived from the Latin word
merulusDate
The earliest known usage of merle in French dates from the 12th century.
Derivations in French
merlette,
merlot,
merleauDerivations in other languages
English
merle, Italian
merlotCognates
Catalan
merla, Dutch
merel, German
Merle, Italian
merlo, Latin
merulaUsage
Word found in Old French
