morel
/məˈɹɛl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.62 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A true morel; any of several fungi in the genus Morchella, the upper part of which is covered with a reticulated and pitted hymenium.
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "The insects which injure the morel cherry-trees so much in Pennsylvania, I perceive, here occasionally act in the same way upon the branches of the wild cherry […]"
- "It exists in both these plants, but whilst the leaves of the last one contain it in some quantity, none is found in those of the morel."
Etymology
Borrowed from French morille (compare Picard merouille, meroule (“morel, mushroom”)), from Middle High German morhel, morchel (“edible fungus, morel”), from Old High German morhila (“edible root”), diminutive of Proto-West Germanic *morhā (“tree root, plant root”), from Proto-Germanic *murhǭ, *murhijǭ (“edible root”), from Proto-Indo-European *mork- (“tuber, edible herb”). Akin to German Morchel (“morel”), Middle Low German morke (“mushroom, morel”), German Möhre (“carrot”). Equivalent to dialectal more (“carrot, root”) + -el (diminutive suffix).
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /məˈɹɛl/
- British English: /məˈɹɛl/
Usage
Inflected Forms
morels (plural)
morell (alternative)
moril (alternative)
Morill (alternative)
Morrell (alternative)
Morrill (alternative)
Derived Forms
Phrases
black morel
white morel
yellow morel
false morel
snow morel
great morel
petty morel
Morgagni-Stewart-Morel syndrome