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piebald

 - 3 dictionary results

pie⋅bald

[pahy-bawld]
–adjective
1. having patches of black and white or of other colors; parti-colored.
–noun
2. a piebald animal, esp. a horse.

Origin:
1580–90; pie 2 (see pied ) + bald


piebaldly, adverb
piebaldness, noun


1. dappled, mottled.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To piebald
pie·bald   (pī'bôld')   
adj.  Spotted or patched, especially in black and white: a piebald horse.
n.  A piebald animal, especially a horse.

[pie2 + bald.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

piebald 
"of two different colors," 1589, formed from pie (2) "magpie" + bald "spotted, white" (see bald), on analogy of the black-and-white plumage of the magpie. Hence, "of mixed character, mongrel." Technically only of black-and-white colorings.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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