merlin en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈmɝlɪn/
Etymology
From Middle English merlioun, merlion, marlyon, merlyon, merlinge, from Old French emerillon, esmerillon, from Old Frankish *smiril (“falcon, hawk”), from Proto-Germanic *smirilaz (“falcon, merlin”). Cognate with Old High German smirl (“falcon”), Old Norse smyrill (“falcon”).
Meanings
-
A small falcon, Falco columbarius, that breeds in northern North America, Europe, and Asia.
The gentle falcon, that with its feet distraineth / The kingës hand; the hardy sperhawke eke, / The quailës foe; the merlion that paineth / Himself full oft the larkë for to seek; [...]
[c. 1381–1382, Geoffrey Chaucer, Parlement of Foules; republished as “The Assembly of Fowls”, in D[avid] Laing Purves, editor, The Canterbury Tales and Faerie Queene: With Other Poems of Chaucer and Spenser. […], Edinburgh: William P. Nimmo, 1874, →OCLC, page 220, column 2:Smaller and less powerful falcons included the merlon, the hobby, and the kesterel.
1991, Thomas S. Henricks, “Sport in Feudal England”, in Disputed Pleasures: Sport and Society in Preindustrial England (Contributions to the Study of World History; 28), Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, Greenwood Publishing Group, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 23:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| merline | alternative | lexicographic | |
| merlon | alternative | lexicographic | |
| marlion | alternative | lexicographic | |
| marlin | alternative | lexicographic | |
| merlins | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| marlyon | alternative | lexicographic | |
| merlion | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Synonyms
Translations (42)
fr faucon émerillon (small falcon) · cmn 灰背隼 (small falcon) · ja 小長元坊 (small falcon) · bg чучулига́р (small falcon) · sk sokol kobec (small falcon) · da dværgfalk (small falcon) · ca falconet (small falcon) · nv chʼilhaatʼaʼii (small falcon) · ba яғалбай (small falcon) · ca esmirla (small falcon) · ky турумтай (small falcon) · smn ciskeváálláš (small falcon) · fr faucon merlin (small falcon) · is smyrill (small falcon) · ru кре́чет (small falcon) · pt esmerilhão (small falcon) · de Merlin (small falcon) · ca esmerla (small falcon) · fa ترمتای (small falcon) · se cizášfálli (small falcon) · la epileus (small falcon) · ro șoim de iarnă (small falcon) · ru де́рбник (small falcon) · pl drzemlik (small falcon) · nl smelleken (small falcon) · ko 쇠황조롱이 (small falcon) · sv stenfalk (small falcon) · fo smyril (small falcon) · bg ма́лък соко́л (small falcon) · es esmerejón (small falcon) · grc αἰσάλων (small falcon) · smj dihttá (small falcon) · vo nänöfafalok (small falcon) · cs dřemlík (small falcon) · eu belatz txiki (small falcon) · an esmerellón (small falcon) · fi ampuhaukka (small falcon) · ota چاقر طوغان (small falcon) · non smyrill (small falcon) · ar يؤيؤ (small falcon) · hu kis sólyom (small falcon) · nah picīltōntli cuauhtohtli (small falcon)