Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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noun
In French heraldry, a depiction of a mythological bird without beak or feet.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: government, heraldry, hobbies, lifestyle, monarchy, nobility, politics
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
From Late Middle English [Term?], from Anglo-Norman merlet (from merle (“blackbird”) + -et (“suffix forming a noun”)), or from Middle French merlette (“little blackbird; merlette (heraldic charge)”) (from merle (“blackbird”)—formerly a feminine noun) + -ette (“diminutive suffix for a feminine noun”). Merle is from Latin merula (“blackbird”), from Proto-Indo-European *h2ems- (“black; blackbird”).
