dapple
English
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dapple
- [ˈdæpəɫ] UK
Rhymes with -æpəl
Where it comes from
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.
noun dapples
- A mottled marking, usually in clusters.
- An animal with a mottled or spotted skin or coat. “My brother,” said he, “do not ride to–day / The dapple, as you’re wont; but mount the horse / Which I have chosen for thee.
adjective more dapple · most dapple
- Having a mottled or spotted skin or coat, dappled. Some dapple mists still floated along the peaks.
verb dapples · dappling · dappled
- To mark or become marked with mottling or spots. Jt ſeemes it is in faſhion vvith you to ſugar your papers vvith Carnation phraſes, and dapple your ſpeeches vvith nevv quodled vvords.
Translations
Every language
noun mottled marking
| Русский | пятнистая окра́ска pjatnistaja |
|---|
noun dappled animal
| Español | tordo, animal de piel moteada |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Schecke |
adj having a spotted skin or coat
| Español | tordo, moteado, habado |
|---|---|
| Français | taché, tacheté |
| Deutsch | scheckig, sprenglich, sprenklich, sprenglig, fleckig |
| Русский | пятни́стый pjatnístyj, в яблоках v jáblokakh, чуба́рый čubáryj |
| العربية | أَبْرَش ʔabraš |
verb to mark with spots
| Español | motear, salpicar |
|---|---|
| Français | tacheter |
| Deutsch | sprenkeln, scheckig machen, besprenkeln, betüpfeln |
| Русский | чудить čuditʹ, дурачиться duračitʹsja, капризничать kaprizničatʹ, покрыва́ть пятнами pokryvátʹ, покрываться пятнами pokryvatʹsja, пятнить pjatnitʹ |
Talk about this word "dapple." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dapple. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. dapple. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dapple "dapple." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dapple.Cite this
@misc{dapple_2026,
title = {dapple},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dapple},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
