dapple

Meaning

Noun

1. A mottled marking, usually in clusters.
2. An animal with a mottled or spotted skin or coat.

Adj

Having a mottled or spotted skin or coat, dappled.

Verb

To mark or become marked with mottling or spots.

Synonyms

spot

fleck

stipple

spatter

maculation

dot

dappled

mottle

speckle

pinto

cloud

☁️

patch

speck

blip

variegated

blot

brindled

dab

macula

macule

motley

piebald

pied

point

prickle

roan

Translations

tordo

manchar

tacheter

motear

puanlı

moteado

beneklenmek

salpicar

benekli

mancha

habado

tache

διαστίζω

παρδαλός

marmorisiert

Pronounced as (IPA)

[ˈdæpəɫ]

Etymology

Uncertain. The adjective is first attested circa 1550 though the first element is already attested in dapple-grey as early as 1386, in Middle English, and later as dappled circa 1400; the OED suggests either:
* a back-formation from dapple-grey, itself a variant of apple-grey, compare possible cognates all said of horses: Old Norse apalgrár (whence Norwegian abildgrå and Swedish apel-grå), German apfelgrau. Compare also French pommelé (“dappled”), from pomme (“an apple”); or,
* a relation with Icelandic depill (“a dot, spot”).
The noun and verb are both later attested likely as back-formations.