/mɜːl/, /mɝl/
OriginFrom 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.
- The Eurasian blackbird, Turdus merula.
- Any blackbird.
- countable, uncountableA type of mottled coloration on dogs.
- countable, uncountableA dog having this coloration.
- A surname from French of French origin.
- A male given name transferred from the surname.
“Merle Haggard is a name out of a morality play. And that's the kind of songs he sings.”
- A female given name from English.
“Her name was Merle, and to her name she always said she owed the fact that Gilbert Vanborough ever looked at her.”
“"I wish I had a name like Merle Oberon or Miriam Hopkins," Mary Agnes said dreamily as she scanned the display of Coming Attractions.”
Formsmerles(plural)
Source: Wiktionary