merlon
mer·lon/ˈmɝl(ə)n/noun
merlon is spelled M-E-R-L-O-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables (mer·lon). It appears about once in every 72 million words in written English, the 269,040th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, merlon means “Any of the upright projections between the embrasures of a battlement, originally for archers to shield behind while shooting arrows over the…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of merlon is merlons.
How many letters and syllables are in merlon?
| Letters | 6: M-E-R-L-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: mer·lon |
| In writing | about once in every 72 million words; the 269,040th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is merlon?
Merlon appears about once in every 72 million words in written English, the 269,040th 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 merlon?
- UK /ˈmɜːlən/
- US /ˈmɝl(ə)n/
Merlon has 2 syllables, split mer·lon in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-merlon.wav, En-us-merlon.mp3, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of merlon
- merlons plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does merlon mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of the upright projections between the embrasures of a battlement, originally for archers to shield behind while shooting arrows over the embrasures, or through loopholes in the merlons.
- 2
Alternative spelling of merlin (“a small falcon, Falco columbarius”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Merlon in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense any of the upright projections between the embrasures of a battlement:
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 merlon come from?
Borrowed from French merlon, from Italian merlone (“merlon”), from merlo (“merlon”) + -one (suffix forming augmentatives). Merlo is derived from Late Latin merulus, merlus, possibly from Latin merula (“blackbird”) (as merlons resemble a row of birds perched on a wall), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ems- (“black; blackbird”). The English word is cognate with Italian mergolo (“battlement; pinnacle”), Portuguese merlão, Spanish merlón (“merlon”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).