merla (Old Dutch)
Where does "merla" come from?
The Old Dutch noun 'merla' traces its roots back to the Latin 'merula', which simply means 'blackbird.' This term eventually found its way into Proto-West Germanic as 'merlā' after being adopted from Vulgar Latin. Interestingly, this word shares a deep ancestry with the German 'Amsel' and English 'ouzel,' all stemming from an ancient Indo-European base that described these iconic dark-plumed birds.
Full etymology tree
- *merla (Old Dutch), 'blackbird'
- inherited *merlā (Proto-West Germanic), 'blackbird'
- borrowed *merla (Vulgar Latin)
- derived merula (Latin), 'blackbird'
- inherited *meselā (Proto-Italic)
- borrowed *h₂ems- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to give birth, beget'
- inherited *meselā (Proto-Italic)
- derived merula (Latin), 'blackbird'
- borrowed *merla (Vulgar Latin)
- inherited *merlā (Proto-West Germanic), 'blackbird'
Ancestors
- *merlā (Proto-West Germanic)
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris