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speckle

/ˈspɛkəl/ noun

Coined: late 16th century Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about speckle at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. A small contrasting part of something.
    a bald spot

verb

  1. Produce a mottled effect.
    The sunlight stippled the trees
  2. Mark with small spots.
    speckle the wall with tiny yellow spots

Origin

The noun is from Middle Dutch spekkel; the verb was later coined from the noun, in the late 16th century.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)