dapple

[ˈdæpəɫ]

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 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.

dapple means Having a mottled or spotted skin or coat, dappled. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 73 out of 100.

Why this word is great

DAPPLE — [Adjective, Noun, Verb] Marked with soft, irregular spots or patches of a different color or shade, or to become so marked. Origin uncertain; likely a back-formation from the earlier adjective 'dappled' (c. 1400), which itself is probably from 'dapple-grey' (1386), a variant of 'apple-grey', related to Old Norse 'apalgrár' (apple-grey), German 'apfelgrau', and French 'pommelé' (dappled), from 'pomme' (apple), all describing a mottled horse color. Unlike 'speckle,' which implies a fine, uniform dusting, or 'mottle,' which suggests a chaotic, streaky blending, dapple describes larger, softer clusters—a pattern of gentle accretion. It is the cool, shifting coins of light under a sycamore; the roan flank of a grazing mare in high summer; the sun-kissed blush on a ripening pear. A dapple is the world’s quiet way of making a surface remember the shadow of something that passed over it.

adj

Having a mottled or spotted skin or coat, dappled.“Some dapple mists still floated along the peaks.”

noun

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.”

verb

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.”