*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Merle

Borrowed from French Merle.

2 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

A surname from French of French origin. · A male given name transferred from the surname.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from French Merle.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "fr:Merle",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"French\", \"term\" : \"Merle\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"fr\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"Merle\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"Merle\">\nBorrowed from French Merle."
    },
    {
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        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "fr:Merle",
        "text": "+",
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      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from French Merle."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Merle",
      "Merle#French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname from French of French origin.",
        "A male given name transferred from the surname."
      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
name

A female given name from English.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

English 19th-century bird name from merle (“blackbird”), possibly also a variant of Muriel, Merrill, etc.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    ],
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    ],
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      "Muriel#English"
    ],
    [
      "Merrill",
      "Merrill#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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        "A female given name from English."
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Merle →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-TWVybGU