martlet
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English martilet, probably a blend of martinet (“martin”; from Middle French martinet and Medieval Latin martineta[1]) and Middle French merlet.[2]
Noun[edit]
martlet (plural martlets)
- (obsolete) A bird, the martin.
- 1862, William Tiler, The Natural History of Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Serpents, Insects, &c:
- “As in a drought the thirsty creatures cry,
And gape upon the gather'd clouds for rain;
Then, first, the Martlet meets it in the sky,
And, with wet wings, joys all the feather'd train.”
- (heraldry) A depiction of a bird similar to a house martin or swallow with stylized feet.
Synonyms[edit]
- merlion (rare)
Translations[edit]
depiction of a mythological bird
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ “martinet, n.(1)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- ^ “martlet, n.2”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
Further reading[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Medieval Latin
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English terms with quotations
- en:Heraldic charges
- en:Swallows