morel

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).

• morell, moril

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /məˈɹɛl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛl

morel (plural morels)

1. A true morel; any of several fungi in the genus Morchella, the upper part of which is covered with a reticulated and pitted hymenium.
2. (Should we delete⁽⁺⁾ this redundant sense?) Any of several edible mushrooms, especially the common morel or yellow morel.
   • 2006, Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma, The Penguin Press, →ISBN, page 388:

     The slightly sulfurous, meaty odor of morels attracts flies, which lay eggs in the safety of the mushroom's hollow stalk.

• black morel (Morchella angusticeps, Morchella conica, Morchella elata, Morchella septentrionalis)
• white morel (Morchella deliciosa)
• yellow morel (Morchella esculenta
• false morel (Gyromitra spp.)
• snow morel (Gyromitra gigas)

From Middle English morel, morell, from Anglo-Norman and Old French morel, morele, morelle and their etymon Medieval Latin maurella, morella, from Late Latin maurus, morus (“black”) + Latin ella (diminutive suffix).^[1]

morel (plural morels)

1. (archaic) Synonym of morello (“type of cherry”).
   • 1821, Thomas Nuttall, A journal of travels into the Arkansa Territory, page 122:

     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 […]

2. Certain plants or genera Solanum, Atropa, and Aralia, with dark, cherry-like berries.
   • 1836, François Magendie, A Formulary for the Preparation and Medical Administration of Certain New Remedies, page 142:

     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.

• great morel (Atropa belladonna)
• morello (probably an alteration)
• petty morel (Solanum nigrum, Aralia racemosa)

• “morel”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

• Lomer, Merlo

• moril (nonstandard)

Borrowed from Dutch moreel (“moral”), from French moral.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmorel/
• Rhymes: -orel
• Hyphenation: mo‧rel

morel (dialectal)

1. synonym of bermoral (“moral”)