merle

also n.
See blackbird (sense 2).

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin merulus, merula.]

merle² (mûrl)
adj.
Having a reddish or bluish gray coat streaked or speckled with black. Used of certain dogs.

n.
A dog with a merle coat.

[Perhaps from MERLE¹.]

A pattern of coat color pigmentation with dark, irregular blotches on a lighter background. Seen in some Collies and Welsh corgis. In shorthaired dogs, e.g. Great Danes and Dachshunds, the similar pattern is called dapple. The trait is sometimes associated with congenital defects such as deafness and heterochromia iridis. In the homozygous state, there are severe ocular defects and deafness.

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The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: common black European thrush
  Synonyms: blackbird, merl, ouzel, ousel, European blackbird, Turdus merula

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merle haggard