Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Having a coat with irregular streaks or speckles of a contrasting color. Used of certain dogs.
- noun A dog with a merle coat.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The European
blackbird Turdus merula; anyblackbird . - noun A type of mottled colouration on dogs.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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It happed after this that a black bird, that is called a merle, came on a time to S. Benet and pecked with his bill at his visage, and grieved and noyed him so much that he could have no rest for it, and could not put it from him, but as soon as he had made the sign of the cross, anon the bird vanished away.
The Golden Legend, vol. 3 1230-1298 1900
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The dictionary says it may come from the word "merle," meaning "blackbird."
Archive 2007-09-01 Ann Althouse 2007
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On December 18th, 2009 at 6: 06 pm, tom merle wrote:
Wine Person of the Decade - nominations open! | Dr Vino's wine blog 2009
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Page Summary zanate: (no subject) [+0] merle_: (no subject) [+4] sulle_stelle: (no subject) [+1] beartalon: (no subject) [+1]
Personal Light Cone james_nicoll 2010
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On December 21st, 2009 at 12: 52 am, tom merle wrote:
Wine Person of the Decade - nominations open! | Dr Vino's wine blog 2009
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On December 31st, 2009 at 4: 21 pm, tom merle wrote:
Vote now! Wine Person of the Decade [the Naughties] | Dr Vino's wine blog 2009
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The red merle Australian shepherd was a surprise Eukanuba winner, beating 2,500 other dogs — and five of the top contenders who are invited to compete at Westminster.
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Page Summary epi_lj: (no subject) [+0] merle_: (no subject) [+0] bats22: (no subject) [+2] da_lj: (no subject) [+0]
iPhone/iPod Touch tip: google calendar, gmail addressbook 2-way link melted_snowball 2010
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The red merle Australian shepherd was a surprise Eukanuba winner, beating 2,500 other dogs — and five of the top contenders who are invited to compete at Westminster.
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On December 24th, 2009 at 1: 03 pm, tom merle wrote:
Vote now! Wine Person of the Decade [the Naughties] | Dr Vino's wine blog 2009
treeseed commented on the word merle
"Merle is a color combination in dogs’ coats. It is a solid base color (usually red/brown or black) with lighter blue/gray or reddish patches, which gives a mottled or uneven speckled effect. Although most breeds that can have merle coats also typically have white markings (such as around the neck, under the belly, and so on), and often tan points (typically between the white and the darker parts of the coat), these are separate colors from the merle; some dogs do appear completely merled with no white or tan markings.
Merle can also alter other colors and patterns besides the usual red or black. These combinations such as Brindle Merle or Liver Merle are not typically accepted in breed standards.
In addition to altering base coat color, merle also modifies eye color and coloring on the nose and paw pads. The merle gene modifies the dark pigment in the eyes, occasionally changing dark eyes to blue, or part of the eye to be colored blue. Since merle causes random modifications, however, both dark-eyed, blue-eyed, and odd-colored eyes. Color on paw pads and nose may be mottled pink and black."
_Wikipedia
January 25, 2008
qms commented on the word merle
My darling is a jewel of a girl
But, blotched and mottled, is no pearl.
Spotless robes are folly
In a hardworking collie,
So Lassie prefers her coat of merle.
August 26, 2014