merlette
nounUK /məːˈlɛt/ · US /mɚˈlɛt/
Etymology 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”).
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Government, Heraldry, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Monarchy, Nobility, Politics In French heraldry, a depiction of a mythological bird without beak or feet.
- Related terms
- martlet