merlin
/ˈmɝlɪn/US/ˈmɝlɪn/
merlin noun: a small falcon, Falco columbarius, that breeds in northern North America, Europe, and Asia.
Noun (1)
merlin (plural merlins)
- 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...
- 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...
- Synonyms:
- pigeon hawk
Noun (2)
merlin (uncountable)
- A cytoskeletal protein active in the suppression of tumors.
- Synonyms:
- schwannomin
Proper noun capitalized: Merlin
Merlin (plural Merlins)
- A wizard in the Arthurian legend.
- I NEXT paſſed into the choir; a ſcene of transformation indeed! I had been accuſtomed to contemplate here a far different order of things. Our profeſſional Merlins have waved their wands to ſome purpoſe; and all view, as their familiars invited me to believe, was to be given up to the momentary...1803 December, an Architect, “The Pursuits of Architectural Innovation. No. LXVI. Salisbury Cathedral continued.”, in The Gentleman’s Magazine, London: […] Nichols and Son, […], page 1122, column 1
- It is a game of chemistry and confidence, where players of gold often make teams of lead, and vice versa. Coaches are like Merlins madly mixing metals, searching for “the right combination,” even if it contradicts common sense.1978 December 29, Thomas Boswell, “Carr Discovers Mysteries of NBA”, in International Herald Tribune, number 29,827, Paris, published 5 January 1979, page 11, column 4
- A male given name.
- A census-designated place in Josephine County, Oregon, United States.
merlin meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
merlin in Hindi
- मर्लिन, मेरलिन, मर्लीन
merlin in Tamil
- நமது பூமியில் காணப்படும் பறவைகளில், இது ஒரு சிறப்பு இனமாகும்
merlin in Marathi
- मर्लिन, मर्लीन, मेर्लिन
merlin in Urdu
- مرلن, میرلن, مرلین
More languagesFewer languages
- merlin in Bengali
- মার্লিন, মেরলিন
- merlin in Telugu
- మెర్లిన్, మెర్లీన్
- merlin in Malayalam
- മെർലിൻ, മെർളിൻ
- merlin in Kannada
- ಮೆರ್ಲಿನ್
- merlin in Punjabi
- ਮਰਲਿਨ, ਮਰਲੀਨ, ਮੇਰਲਿਨ
- merlin in Gujarati
- મર્લિન, મેરલિન, મર્લીન
- merlin in Odia
- ମର୍ଲିନ୍, ମର୍ଲିନ
- merlin in Nepali
- मर्लिन, मेरलिन
- merlin in Arabic
- يؤيؤ
- merlin in Persian
- ترمتای toramtây
Synonyms of merlin
Forms of merlin
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | merlins |
| alternative form | marlin |
| alternative form | marlion |
| alternative form | marlyon |
| alternative form | merline |
| alternative form | merlion |
| alternative form | merlon |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Merlins |
Origin of merlin
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”).
Acronym of moesin-ezrin-radixin-like protein + -in (“protein”)
From Middle English Merlyn, from Medieval Latin Merlinus and Old French Merlin, from Proto-Brythonic *Mor-ðin (literally “sea-hill”), from Proto-Celtic *mori (“sea”) + *dūnom (“stronghold, rampart”).
Words formed from merlin
Phrases with merlin
Questions about merlin
- What does merlin mean?
- Merlin means a small falcon, Falco columbarius, that breeds in northern North America, Europe, and Asia.
- What is merlin in Hindi?
- Merlin in Hindi is मर्लिन, मेरलिन, मर्लीन. See Merlin meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is merlin?
- Merlin can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce merlin?
- Merlin is pronounced /ˈmɝlɪn/.
- What is the plural of merlin?
- The plural of merlin is merlins.
Words near merlin in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: merlin (page history and authors); Merlin (page history and authors); merlin (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); merlin (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); merlin (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); merlin (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); merlin (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); merlin (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); merlin (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); merlin (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); merlin (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); merlin (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); merlin (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); merlin (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-merlin.wav.
Cite this entry: “merlin.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/merlin. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.