English
marlinspike
From marline + spike.
Proto-Indo-European *mer- ‘to die’
Proto-Germanic *mairōną ‘to moor, fasten to’
Middle Dutch marlijn ‘cord’
Middle Low German marling
Middle English merlin
English marline
Proto-Indo-European *spey- ‘to be pointed’
Proto-Germanic *spīkō ‘stick, splinter, point’
Old Norse spík ‘spike, sprig’
Middle English spike
English spike
Today it means
noun A tool, consisting of a pointed metal spike, used to manipulate the strands of rope or cable when knotting and splicing.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / marlinspike