noun, masculine/mɛʁl/plural: merles
blackbird; Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula)
“Quand nous chanterons le temps des cerises / Et gai rossignol et merle moqueur / Seront tous en fête”
Synonyms: tchoque, estorneau
Inherited from Latin merula, the word for the male blackbird being mostly female until the 16th century. Probable influence of the Late Latin masculine form merulus. Cognates * Galician melro, merla, merlo, merliño * Italian merlo * Spanish mirlo * Portuguese melro