A small falcon used in hunting, or the legendary wizard from King Arthur stories.
From Old French 'merle' (blackbird), since the bird was thought to resemble a blackbird; the legendary Merlin comes from Welsh 'Myrddin,' a figure in Arthurian legend whose name may relate to the word 'mer' (sea).
Merlin the wizard inspired one of fantasy literature's most important archetypes—the wise magical mentor—which appeared in countless works from Tolkien's Gandalf to Harry Potter's Dumbledore, creating a template we still recognize today!
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