merle

or merl

[ murl ]

/ mɜrl /

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noun Chiefly Scot.

the blackbird, Turdus merula.

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Origin of merle

1350–1400; Middle English merule<Middle French <Latin merulus, merula ousel, blackbird

Words nearby merle

merit system, merk, Merkel, Merkel's corpuscle, merkin, merle, Merleau-Ponty, merlin, Merlo, merlon, Merlot

Other definitions for merle (2 of 3)

merle²

[ murl ]

/ mɜrl /

noun

a bluish gray color mottled with black.

adjective

being the color merle.

Origin of merle

First recorded in 1900–05; origin uncertain

Other definitions for merle (3 of 3)

Merle

[ murl ]

/ mɜrl /

noun

a male or female given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use merle in a sentence

Built by the four Patenaude brothers on 200 acres of mountain they bought from their father, Merle, the ski area had opened only 13 years before.
Small ski areas, big impact|Dina Mishev|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
This is just sheer fantasy or nightmare, I’m not sure which, but it would be Merle.
He’s reported on music’s legends. Now Peter Guralnick is letting himself slip into the story.|Geoff Edgers|November 29, 2020|Washington Post
The stars kept coming: Bing Crosby, Gary Cooper, Merle Oberon.
The Rise of the Malibu Movie Colony|Michele Willens|April 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ultimately, that included Andrea, Milton, Merle, and all but one of the adult, able-bodied residents of Woodbury.
A Primer For ‘The Walking Dead’ Season Four Premiere|Melissa Leon|October 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST

And, perhaps most heartbreakingly, Merle died trying to take out the Governor on his own.
A Primer For ‘The Walking Dead’ Season Four Premiere|Melissa Leon|October 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I realize now that this story was a major influence on the Merle Zane character in the Niceville series.
Carsten Stroud’s Book Bag: My Top Five Horror Classics|Carsten Stroud|July 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
You hear it in Hank Williams Sr., Merle Haggard, early Dolly Parton, and you hear it in George Jones.
George Jones Would Break Your Heart Every Time|Malcolm Jones|April 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Merle glanced up to see him despoiling a bush that embowered one of the brown headstones and an all but obliterated mound.
The Wrong Twin|Harry Leon Wilson
It was Wilbur's, but Merle quite naturally took it from him and assumed charge of the ensuing operation.
The Wrong Twin|Harry Leon Wilson
As Merle demonstrated the problem in hydraulics the girl studied him more attentively, then gleamed with a sudden new radiance.
The Wrong Twin|Harry Leon Wilson
The Merle twin never smoked for two famous Puritan reasons—it was wrong for boys to smoke and it made him sick.
The Wrong Twin|Harry Leon Wilson
The quick-thinking Merle twin had by now devised an exit from any complicity in whatever was meant.
The Wrong Twin|Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for merle (1 of 2)

merle¹

merl

/ (mɜːl, Scottish mɛrl) /

noun

Scot another name for the (European) blackbird

Word Origin for merle

C15: via Old French from Latin merula

British Dictionary definitions for merle (2 of 2)

merle²

/ (mɜːl) /

adjective

(of a dog, esp a collie) having a bluish-grey coat with speckles or streaks of blackOften called: blue merle

Word Origin for merle

C20: from dialect mirlet, mirly speckled

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012