Nearby Words
Synonyms

dapple

[dap-uhl] Origin

dap·ple

[dap-uhl] noun, adjective, verb, -pled, -pling.
noun
1.
a spot or mottled marking, usually occurring in clusters.
2.
an animal with a mottled skin or coat.
adjective
3.
dappled; spotted: a dapple horse.

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Dapple is one of our favorite verbs.
So is peculate. Does it mean:
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
4.
to mark or become marked with spots.

Origin:
1545–55; probably back formation from dappled
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
dapple (ˈdæpəl)
 
vb
1.  to mark or become marked with spots or patches of a different colour; mottle
 
n
2.  mottled or spotted markings
3.  a dappled horse, etc
 
adj
4.  marked with dapples or spots
 
[C14: of unknown origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Main Entry:  dapple1
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  rounded patches of a color or shade against a differently colored background
Etymology:  Middle English dappel
Main Entry:  dapple1
Part of Speech:  v
Definition:  to mark with rounded patches of a color or shade; to spot
Etymology:  Middle English dappel
Usage:  transitive
Main Entry:  dapple2
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  a mottled appearance, esp. on the coat of an animal as a horse
Etymology:  Middle English dappel
Main Entry:  dapple2
Part of Speech:  v
Definition:  to become dappled
Etymology:  Middle English dappel
Usage:  intransitive
Main Entry:  dapple
Part of Speech:  adj
Definition:  dappled
Etymology:  Middle English dappel
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2012 Dictionary.com, LLC
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dapple
c.1400 (dappled), perhaps a back-formation from dapple-grey "apple-grey" (late 14c.), by resemblance to the markings on an apple (cf. O.N. apalgrar "dapple-gray"), or, as it was used of gray horses with round blotches, perhaps of apples themselves.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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