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mir·li·ton

(mîrlĭ-tŏn′, mîr-lē-tôɴ)

n.
Chiefly Southern Louisiana

See chayote.

[Louisiana French, (perhaps from the kazoolike shape of chayote fruit) from French mirliton, coin, reed pipe with a vibrating membrane, kazoo, perhaps from a song refrain (such as mireli, mirela, refrain of the popular 16th-century song "Dessus le marché d'Arras" describing a man offering money to a young woman for her favors).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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