merlin
/ˈmɝlɪn/noun
merlin is spelled M-E-R-L-I-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, merlin means “A small falcon, Falco columbarius, that breeds in northern North America, Europe, and Asia” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of merlin is merlins.
How many letters and syllables are in merlin?
| Letters | 6: M-E-R-L-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.6 times per million words; the 16,687th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is merlin?
Merlin appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce merlin?
- /ˈmɝlɪn/
Merlin has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-merlin.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with merlin?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as merlin.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: limner.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of merlin
- merlins plural
- marlin
- marlion
- marlyon
- merline
- merlion
- merlon
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does merlin mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small falcon, Falco columbarius, that breeds in northern North America, Europe, and Asia.
- 2
A cytoskeletal protein active in the suppression of tumors.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Merlin in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense small falcon:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | faucon émerillon, faucon merlin |
| German | Merlin |
| Portuguese | esmerilhão |
| Spanish | esmerejón |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does merlin come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).