Merino
/məˈriːnoʊ/noun
A breed of sheep prized for producing exceptionally fine, soft wool, or the wool itself.
Did you know?Spain once tightly restricted the export of Merino sheep, helping preserve its near-monopoly on this unusually fine wool until the breed spread internationally in the eighteenth century.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*meg-
“Great or large; the reconstructed root behind later Latin forms connected with rank and superiority.”
Classical Latin
Latin
maior
“Greater or elder; the comparative form of magnus, “great.””
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin
maiorinus
“Belonging to a maior, an official or administrator; this is a proposed source for Spanish merino.”
Medieval Spanish
Spanish
merino
“An official responsible for judicial or administrative duties, later associated with oversight of royal sheep flocks.”
15th–16th Century
Spanish
merino
“A breed or type of sheep producing exceptionally fine wool; the exact development from the official’s title remains uncertain.”
18th Century
English
merino
“A fine-wool sheep or its wool, adopted into English as the breed and its valuable textile spread beyond Spain.”