speck

Meaning

Noun

1. A tiny spot or particle, especially of dirt.
2. A very small amount; a particle; a whit.
3. A small etheostomoid fish, Etheostoma stigmaeum, common in the eastern United States.

Verb

To mark with specks; to speckle.

Synonyms

spot

dot

point

grain

speckle

stain

particle

fleck

blot

mote

jot

pip

smear

blemish

bit

mark

granule

smirch

splotch

trace

slur

soupcon

pinpoint

pinch

blur

hint

tinge

sully

touch

sperm

smudge

smut

seed

semen

corpuscle

mottle

molecule

atom

mite

besmirch

macula

moil

spark

dots

dit

discrepancy

blubber

besmear

dirtiness

degrade

Translations

macchiolina

partícula

Fleck

semente

korrel

grão

Fleckchen

point

Korn

gra

grana

particule

pit

zaadkorrel

grano

Pronounced as (IPA)

/spɛk/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: spekke

Inherited from Old English: specca

Cognate with Low German: spaken

Inherited from Middle English: spik

Inherited from Old English: spic

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: Späk

Cognate with Dutch: spek

Cognate with German: Speck

Cognate with Icelandic: spik

In summary

From Middle English spekke, from Old English specca (“small spot, stain”), from the same ultimate source as Proto-Germanic *sprakô (“spark”). Cognate with Low German spaken (“to spot with wet”).