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dapple

Pronunciation: [ˈdæpəɫ]

The English word “dapple” has 4 meanings listed here.

noun

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

adjective

  1. Having a mottled or spotted skin or coat, dappled.

verb

  1. To mark or become marked with mottling or spots.

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…

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