A place name (Merton is a London borough) or a surname, not typically used as a common noun with a standard definition.
From Old English 'mere' (lake) and 'tun' (settlement), meaning 'settlement by a lake.' It's a geographical place name in England.
Merton College, Oxford, was founded in 1264 and is one of the oldest colleges—William Harvey, who discovered how blood circulates, studied there and revolutionized medicine!
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