merlette
In French heraldry, a depiction of a mythological bird without beak or feetIn French heraldry, a depiction of a mythological bird without beak or feet.
Meaning
1 sensesIn French heraldry, a depiction of a mythological bird without beak or feet.
Origin
From Late Middle English [Term?], from Anglo-Norman merlet (from merle (“blackbird”) + -etFrom 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”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.