meritoryt (merit or i)

[ How meritory is thilke dede Of charitee to clothe and fede The poore folke. Gower , Conf. Amant., Prol. As to the first, it is meritory. Chaucer , Parson's Tale. meritott (mer'i-tot), n. [See merry - totter .] See the quotation. IMG:content-0501.png:[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small] = Pg. esmerilhão = It. smeriglione, a merlin; aug. of OF. * esmerle = It. smerlo = OHG. smirl, MHG. smirle, G. schmerl, schmirl Icel. smyrill (also D. smerlijn = MLG. smerle = MHG. smirlīn, smerlink, smirlinc, G. schmer lin ), a merlin, IMG:content-0502.jpg:[graphic] Merlin ( Falco asalon or Æsalon regulus). sparrow-hawk, F. regulus, F. æsalon, or F. lith of alco, one of the smallest of the European birds of prey, but very spirited. Though only 10 or 12 inches long, and thus not much larger than a thrush, it has been used in hawking for quails, larks, and other small game. The corresponding falcon of North America is Richardson's merlin, F. richardson i, a near relative of the common pigeon-hawk of the same country, F. columbarius. The merlyon that paynyth Hymself ful ofte the larke for to seeke. Chaucer, Parliament of Fowls, 1. 339. The merlin is the least of all hawks, not much bigger than a black-bird. Holmes, Acad. of Arm., ii. 11, § 57. ( Nares .) 2. A hardy, active pony, somewhat larger than the Shetland, found in Wales. The county [Montgomery] was long famous for its hardy breed of small horses called merlins , which are still to be met with. Encyc . Brit ., XVI. 789. merling