Arthurian Legend. a venerable magician and seer.
a male given name.
1350–1400; Middle English merlioun, merlone < Anglo-French merilun, Old French esmerillon, diminutive of esmeril < Germanic; akin to German Schmerl, Old Norse smyrill
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The estate is home to rare wildlife, including curlew, mountain bumblebees, lapwings, red squirrels, cuckoo and merlin, as well as Atlantic salmon and critically endangered eels, but the conservationists say nature could be richer still.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2025
Standing beside Muul along a sidewalk in the Gatewood neighborhood, I craned my neck to look for the merlin at the top of a tall tree but all I saw were branches.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
And those are the trees most favored by the small population of raptors, including the merlin.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
The merlin darted overhead, sounding high-pitched, rapid-fire distress calls.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 12, 2022
“You still do not follow what I mean. Suppose he had gone as a merlin last night, and failed in the ordeal, and lost his nerve?”
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Chief among them is Merlin Bird ID, which was developed by Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
And Barry tells the BBC the future plan for Merlin is to continue keeping it simple.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Merlin the duck steals the show at Mexican president’s news briefing.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
The six-hour interception operation was supported by Chinook, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat helicopters and a maritime patrol aircraft, a Ministry of Defence statement said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 14, 2026
He lives with his two children, Merlin and Angel, and their mother, Maria, in the little guest house next to my house on the shore of the Indian Ocean.
From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
