speck

[spek]
noun
1.
a small spot differing in color or substance from that of the surface or material upon which it appears or lies: Specks of soot on the window sill.
2.
a very little bit or particle: We haven't a speck of sugar.
3.
something appearing small by comparison or by reason of distance: By then the town was just a speck.
verb (used with object)
4.
to mark with, or as with, a speck or specks.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English specke, Old English specca; cognate with Dutch spikkel

speck·ed·ness [spek-id-nis] , noun
speck·less, adjective
speck·less·ly, adverb
speck·less·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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00:10
Speck is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.
to run away hurriedly; flee.
Collins
World English Dictionary
speck (spɛk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a very small mark or spot
2.  a small or tiny piece of something
 
vb
3.  (tr) to mark with specks or spots
 
[Old English specca; related to Middle Dutch spekelen to sprinkle]

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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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

speck
O.E. specca "small spot, stain," of unknown origin; probably related to Du. speckel "speck, speckle," M.Du. spekelen "to sprinkle." Meaning "tiny bit" developed c.1400.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Each cell could contain a tiny speck of fissionable material, or the cells
  could cluster in a colony around a source.
Sometimes they'd see a tiny speck in the sky, sometimes two or more together,
  making a distant buzz.
The planet would appear as a tiny speck, with neither blue ocean nor swirling,
  white cloud visible.
She didn't spare me one speck of nasty truth tonight.
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