speckn.1
/spɛk/, U.S. /spɛk/ 1. figurative.1822 C. Lamb in London Mag. May 405/1 I have a kindly yearning toward these dim specks—poor blots—innocent blacknesses.
a. A small spot of a different colour or substance to that of the material or surface upon which it appears; a minute mark or discoloration. Occasionally const. of (cf. 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > a small quantity or amount
speckc725
littleOE
somethingc1200
lutewihtc1230
little whatc1384
ouncec1387
lap1393
smalla1400
modicumc1400
nekedc1400
spota1413
tinec1420
nieveful?a1425
handfulc1443
mouthful?c1450
smatchc1456
weec1480
quern1503
halfpennyworth1533
groatsworth1562
dram1566
shellful1578
trickle1580
snatch1592
sprinkling1594
fleck1598
snip1598
pittance1600
lick1603
fingerful1604
modicum1606
thimbleful1607
flash1614
dasha1616
pipa1616
pickle1629
drachm1635
cue1654
smack1693
starn1720
bit1753
kenning1787
minikin1787
tate1805
starnie1808
sprat1815
harl1821
skerrick1825
smallums1828
huckleberry1832
scrimp1840
thimble1841
smite1843
nattering1859
sensation1859
spurt1859
pauchlea1870
mention1891
sketch1894
sputterings1894
scrappet1901
titch1937
tad1940
skosh1959
smattering1973
the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > disfigurement > [noun] > a disfigurement or blemish > spot
speckc725
pock1894
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > [noun] > spotted condition > spot
speckc725
moleeOE
spot?c1225
wen1340
spleck1398
tachea1400
motec1400
macule?a1425
smot1532
fleck1598
iron mould1638
flecket1684
sye1781
c725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) N 160 Notae, speccan.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. (Rolls) II. 88 Smire þonne þa speccan mid þære sealfe.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 551 On spec of a spote may spede to mysse Of þe syȝte of þe souerayn þat syttez so hyȝe.
a1450 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xviii. lxxxi Pantera..is a beeste paynted wiþ smal rounde speckes [a1398 BL Add. 27944 splekkes; 1495 de Worde speckles]: so þat al his skynne semeth fulle of yȝen bi diuersite of speckes blacke, white and rede.
a1450 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (Bodl.) xvi. xciv Salte doþ awey speckkes [a1398 BL Add. 27944 splekkes; 1495 de Worde speckles] in þe face ȝif it is itempered wiþ water camphora.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 274/1 Specke, marke, marcque.
1591 R. Percyvall Bibliotheca Hispanica Dict. at Peca A specke, a spot in the face, macula, næuus.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Tacheture, a spot, specke, or speckle.
1672 N. Grew Anat. Veg. i. 14 Divers small Specks, of a different colour from that of the Parenchyma,..may be observ'd.
1727 J. Gay Fables I. xi. 37 In beauty faults conspicuous grow, The smallest speck is seen on snow.
1793 W. Wordsworth Evening Walk 356 But now the clear bright Moon her zenith gains, And, rimy without speck, extend the plains.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 745 Give the little speck of light reflected from the pupil of the eye, with pure white.
1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1877) II. vii. 34 Such faults seemed little more than a few specks on a burnished mirror.
b. With adjectives of colour, etc.
ΚΠ
c1050 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 446 Maculam pullam, þone sweartan speccan.
1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 7 Bespotted with Purple speckes and bloud coloured vaines.
1608 A. Willet Hexapla in Exodum 641 The saphir..shineth with golden speckes in it.
1663 R. Boyle Some Considerations Usefulnesse Exper. Nat. Philos. i. iii. 54 The cicatricula or little whitish speck discernable in the coat of the eggs yolk.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 239 The Skin of it is all spotted black and white, with some yellowish specks.
a1701 H. Maundrell Acct. Journey from Aleppo in Journey to Jerusalem (1721) 6 Stone very much resembling Porphyry; being of a red ground, with yellow specks and veins, very glossy.
1796 J. G. Stedman Narr. Exped. Surinam II. xxviii. 335 The timber brown, variegated or powdered with white specks.
1818–20 E. Thompson Cullen's Nosologia (ed. 3) 325 An efflorescence consisting of small, distinct, purple specks and patches.
1877 T. H. Huxley & H. N. Martin Course Elem. Biol. (ed. 4) 18 In some Amœbæ a clear space makes its appearance... After a while, a small clear speck appears at the same spot.
c. Applied to things rendered extremely small by distance or by comparison with their surroundings. (Common in 19th cent.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > [noun] > apparent > that which appears to be reduced in size
prick?a1425
speck1656
dot1791
1656 A. Cowley Extasie in Pindaric Odes ii Where shall I find the noble Brittish Land? Lo, I at last a Northern Spec espie, Which in the Sea does lie!
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 723 What the eye sees distinctly at once, is comparatively but a speck in the vast scene.
1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto II xiii. 125 The town became a speck, From which away so fair and fast they bore.
1868 J. N. Lockyer Elem. Lessons Astron. §321 We find..that the whole solar system is but a mere speck in the universe.
d. Applied to a very small or distant cloud. Frequently in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > cloud > [noun] > a cloud > small cloud
speck1744
cloudlet1788
shred1835
1744 J. Thomson Summer in Seasons (new ed.) 95 Amid the Heavens, Falsely serene, deep in a cloudy Speck.
1831 D. E. Williams Life Sir T. Lawrence II. 73 The speck destined to be the tempest of future life.
a1832 J. Mackintosh Hist. Revol. Eng. (1834) viii. 213 Not a speck in the heavens seemed to the common eye to forebode a storm.
1878 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. (ed. 2) III. xviii. 211 The solitary speck that clouded the future of the dynasty.
2. figurative.1713 E. Young Poem on Last Day iii. 65 Call back thy Thunders, Lord,..Nor with a Speck of Wretchedness Engage.1766 R. Griffith & E. Griffith Lett. Henry & Frances III. 252 A man of Sense, Taste, and Virtue..who magnifies her every Speck of Merit!1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. iii. 15 The only speck of interest that presents itself to my..view.
a. A small or minute particle of something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a separate part > a piece or bit > a particle
grotc888
crumba1387
motec1390
particlea1398
pointa1400
specka1400
atomy1584
moment1594
dust1597
pickle1604
mite1605
atom1626
iota1636
ramentum1658
bodikin1668
part1669
dustling1674
scintilla1674
minim1686
fleck1753
molecule1799
heartbeat1855
particule1889
a1400–50 Alexander 743 Als sprent of my spittyng a specke on þi chere, Þou sall be diȝt to þe deth.
1587 D. Fenner Song of Songs i. 10 With speckes of siluer very fine they set about shalbe.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 23 The Gloworm... Her eyes are two small black points or specks of jett.
1839 H. T. De la Beche Rep. Geol. Cornwall xi. 327 These bunches frequently containing strings and specks of ore.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. xxi. 342 We watch the ice..and find that every speck of dirt upon it retains its position.
1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight v. 52 Specks of iron and steel, how~ever, may often be removed..by the use of a strong magnet.
b. Without const. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Piciformes > [noun] > family Picidae > genus Picus (woodpecker)
woodhackc1440
woodwall1490
woodpecker1530
woodhacker1548
woodpeck1552
woodspite1555
woodspeckc1560
modwall1572
eat-bill1598
speck1601
tree-jobber1601
hecco1604
eat-bee1608
knag1639
French pie1783
pie1783
nicker-pecker1787
rind-tabberer1848
peckerwood1859
nickle1885
nicker1886
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 310 In these so little bodies (nay pricks and specks rather than bodies indeed).
1712 R. Blackmore Creation vi. 282 Each vital Speck, in which remains Th'entire, but rumpled Animal.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. vii. 214 Here we struck ground.., the bottom consisting of grey sand, with black specks.
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. (1856) xxxiv. 298 An almost constant deposition of crystalline specks, which covered our decks with a sort of hoar-frost.
1855 J. Phillips Man. Geol. 201 Coarse sandstone with carbonaceous specks.
a1862 H. T. Buckle Misc. Wks. (1872) I. 18 What we have done is but a speck compared to what remains to be done.
1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect Long Life I. 258 He..deemed it a duty..to magnify faults and dwindle virtues to specks.
c. A small piece, portion, etc., of ground or land. Also the Speck (Australian colloquial), Tasmania.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > tract > [noun] > small
plotlOE
plat1435
particlec1460
specka1552
patch1577
pick1585
field plot1659
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [noun] > that which is small > a small space or extent
spana1400
spota1450
specka1552
pocket handkerchief1866
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > Australasia > [noun] > Australia > Tasmania
Tassie1894
Apple Island1906
Apple Isle1906
the Speck1930
a1552 J. Leland Itinerary (1711) VII. 27 The hole Foreste of Maxwel except it be a smaul Spek is yn Chestre.
1796 J. G. Stedman Narr. Exped. Surinam I. vii. 158 My negroes having made a temporary kind of bridge, to step from the yawl upon a small speck of dry ground.
1800 S. T. Coleridge tr. F. Schiller Piccolomini i. x. 43 Yield them up that dot, that speck of land.
1930 Bulletin (Sydney) 11 June 21 N.S.W., V., Q., S.A., W.A. and the Speck.
1949 Geogr. Mag. Feb. 373 Tassie and The Speck, meaning Tasmania.
1963 Times 12 Mar. (Austral. Suppl.) p. v/4 Tasmania—affectionately known as ‘the speck’.
d. not..a speck, not at all. U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [phrase] > nothing, no one, not any > not at all
na whonc1275
at all1476
no point1542
like hell1776
not‥a speck1843
not‥a hang1861
my fanny1935
1843 T. C. Haliburton Attaché I. ii. 31 I doubled up my fist, for I didn't like it [the treatment] a spec.
1936 M. Mitchell Gone with the Wind xl. 719 You're smart enough about dollars and cents... But you..aren't a speck smart about folks.
3. figurative and in extended use.c1785 J. Courtenay in J. Boswell Life Johnson (1791) anno 1773 I. 427 Hence not alone are brighter parts display'd, But ev'n the specks of character pourtray'd.1815 J. Mackintosh Speech in Wks. (1846) III. 317 What is destroyed by the slightest speck of corruption [etc.].1825 W. Scott Talisman iv, in Tales Crusaders IV. 59 Can all the pearls of the East atone for a speck upon England's honour..?1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz in La Saisiaz: Two Poets of Croisic 36 Not a dint Nor speck had damaged ‘Ode to Araminte’.
a. A small spot as indicative of a defective, diseased, or faulty condition; a blot, blemish, or defect.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > imperfection > [noun] > an imperfection > stain or spot or blemish
foulnessOE
tachea1400
tackc1425
speckc1785
soilure1840
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 636 The best [glass] is that which is..free of blemishes, as blisters, specks, streaks, &c.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Merlin & Vivien 393 in Idylls of King The..little pitted speck in garner'd fruit, That rotting inward slowly moulders all.
1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. s.v. White speck of tobacco, a disease..caused by the fungus Macrosporium tabacinum.
b. slang. (See quots. 18511, 18512.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > [noun] > damaged or rejected
speck1851
cull1937
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 88/1 The damaged oranges are known as ‘specks’.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 117/1 The shrivelled, dwarfish, or damaged fruit—called by the street-traders the ‘specks’.
1897 Daily News 9 Sept. 3/7 He heard children asking for ‘farthingsworths of specks’ at defendant's stall.
4. In moth-names (see quots.).
ΚΠ
1832 J. Rennie Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit. 89 The White Speck (Leucania unipuncta..);..a minute white dot at the base of the hinder stigma.
1832 J. Rennie Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit. 135 The Tawny Speck (Eupithecia subfulvata..) appears the beginning of August.
Compounds
speck-like adj.
ΚΠ
1917 J. Masefield Lollingdon Downs 56 No spark of him is specklike in his glass.
1965 E. Bishop Questions of Trav. i. 11 A specklike girl and boy, Alone, but near a specklike house.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
speckn.2
northern dialect.† 2. A piece, strip, or trimming of undressed hide used in making size. Obsolete.† 3. (See quots.) Obsolete. rare.
1. A patch or piece of leather used in the making or mending of boots or shoes. †Also, a patch of cloth or other material.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > types of material generally > [noun] > patch of material for mending
clouta700
patcha1382
piece?c1430
speckc1440
piece-patch1880
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > [noun] > piece of > other pieces
piece?c1430
fasel1440
speckc1440
pane1459
rag?1536
remnant1571
fag end1607
swatch1647
cut1753
rigg1769
hag's teeth1777
bias1824
spetch1828
shredlet1840
bias tape1884
short end1960
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > parts of footwear > [noun] > protective studs or plates > other
speckc1440
under-leather1569
rand1598
tongue1598
ruffle1600
underlay1612
tap1688
jump1712
bottom1768
boot-garter1824
yarking1825
range1840
counter1841
insole1851
sock1851
galosh1853
heel plate1862
lift1862
foxing1865
spring1885
saddle1930
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 468/1 Spekke, clowte, pictacium.
1483 Cath. Angl. 353/1 A Spekk (Speke A.), presegmen.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Diii/2 A Specke, cento.
1609 Bible (Douay) I. Josh. ix. 5 And shoes very old which for shew of oldenesse were clouted with speckes.
1664 Spelman's Gloss. Pictatium,..Anglicè a scraw, or a speck, or the clout of a shoe.
17.. Robin Hood rescuing three Squires in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1888) III. v. 179 Robin did on the old mans cloake, And it was torne in the necke; ‘Now, by my faith,’ said William Scarlett, ‘Heere shold be set a specke’.
1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 354 Speck, the heel-piece of a shoe.
a1825 R. Forby Vocab. E. Anglia (1830) Speck, the sole of a shoe.
1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby Speck, the piece put on to the heel or toe of a shoe.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > skin or hide > [noun] > hide for making specific substances
scrow1339
speck1496
glue-stock1885
1496–7 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1898) I. 250 Et sol. eidem pro le spekkes et dealbacione aule, 18d.
1531 in J. Raine Durham Househ. Bk. (1844) 69 Empcio le Whyteledre... Et in mundacione 3 pellium equorum soluti Johanni Grynvill, 2s. Et eidem pro 3 speccis, 6d.
1531 in J. Raine Durham Househ. Bk. (1844) 84 Et in speccis emptis pro camera de Meryngton, 4d.
1611 in J. Barmby Churchwardens' Accts. Pittington (1888) 161 Paide for fower bushels of speckes to the same [sc. lime], xx d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > ploughing equipment > [noun] > plough > parts to prevent wear
forshakel1304
plough shoe1348
plough-clout1350
slipe1616
speck1684
strake1835
1684 G. Meriton York-shire Dial. 39 Thy Father and Hobb, mun gang to th' Smiddy, And fetch the Specks, Sock and Cowlter hither.
1684 G. Meriton York-shire Dial. Clavis Specks, are long thin pieces of Iron which Husband-men nail upon their Ploughs, to save them from wearing.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
speckn.3
East Anglian dialect.
A woodpecker.
ΚΠ
c1520 Parl. Byrdes (de Worde) sig. A.iv Than in his hole sayd the specke I wolde the hawke brake his necke.
1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II Woodspack, a woodpecker.]
1855 Norfolk Words in Trans. Philol. Soc. 37 Specke.—Woodpecker.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
speckn.4
/spɛk/, U.S. /spɛk/, South African English /spek/ Now U.S. and South African.
1.
a. Fat meat, esp. bacon or pork.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > [noun] > meat > fat meat
speck1633
1633 T. Heywood Eng. Traveller i. ii Adue good Cheese and Oynons, stuffe thy guts With Specke and Barley-pudding for disgestion.
1809 in Thornton Amer. Gloss. (at cited word) He goes out almost every week to eat speck with the country folks; thereby showing that a democratic governor is not to be choaked with fat pork.
1886 Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 17 App. p. xii ‘Speck’ is..the generic term applied [in Pennsylvania] to all kinds of fat meat.
b. The fat or blubber of a whale.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > order Cetacea (whales) > [noun] > large member of (whale) > parts of > blubber or flesh
fritters1631
speck1743
flench-gut1808
fenks1820
kent1820
whale blubber1844
plum pudding1851
rind1870
1743 Univ. Spectator 25 Sept. 3 About ten Days ago a large Whale run ashore at Whitehills near Banff, from which they have already taken 80 Barrels of Speck.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Speck, blubber; the fat of whales.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. ii. 23 The spec or blubber is purchased from the natives with the usual articles of exchange.
c. The fat of a hippopotamus.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > order Artiodactyla (cloven-hoofed animals) > [noun] > group Suiformes (hippos and pigs) > family Hippopotamidae > hippopotamus, amphibiusi, or hippo > parts of
speck1863
1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr. Hunting iv. 110 Mothlow shot a sea-cow, and I went down..to bring up half a wagon~load of speck.
1864 P. L. Sclater Guide Zool. Gardens 53 The layer of fat next the skin makes excellent bacon, technically denominated Hippopotamus speck at the Cape.
2. attributive in the names of tackle or apparatus used in dealing with whale-speck, as speck-block, speck-fall, speck-purchase, speck-tackle, speck-trough, speck-tub (see quots.).
ΚΠ
1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions II. 299 The harpooners..divide the fat into oblong pieces or ‘slips’..; then affixing a ‘speck-tackle’ to each slip, progressively flay it off, as it is drawn upward.
1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions II. 306 The ‘speck-trough’..consists of a kind of oblong box or chest, about twelve feet in length.
1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 121 The speck-falls, whereof there are two, for hoisting the blubber and bone off the whale, are ropes rove through two blocks made fast to the blubber-guy.
1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 290 Speck-block.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Spike-tackle and cant-falls, the ropes and blocks used in whalers to sling their prey to the side of the ship.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Spike-tub, a vessel in which the fat of bears, seals, and minor quarry is set aside till a ‘making off’ gives an opportunity for adding it to the blubber in the hold.
1874 A. H. Markham Whaling Cruise 133 The fish is taken in, in four hoists, with the fore and main spek tackles.
Draft additions December 2005
Cookery. A cured and smoked ham of the type produced in the Alto Adige region of Italy (formerly the southern part of the Austrian Tyrol).
ΚΠ
1981 N.Y. Times 6 Sept. x. 5/4 A specialty of the region is speck, a peasant bacon that is served with eggs or in big dumplings.
1987 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 8 Feb. vii. 1/1 At Pordoi Pass we broke lunch out of our packs—speck, a delicious native smoked ham like prosciutto, salami, Gorgonzola,..bread and orange juice.
1999 BBC Good Food Apr. 79/2 (advt.) There's also a genuine Italian Parma Ham... Or try Speck, a lightly smoked dry-cured ham with spices.
2001 Observer 6 May (Life Suppl.) 53/3 Sassu incorporates radicchio di Treviso into his repertoire, tossing it into a wild rocket salad with speck and scarmorza.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
speckv.1
/spɛk/, U.S. /spɛk/ 1.
a. transitive. To mark with specks; to dot after the manner of specks.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > variegation > spot of colour > spot [verb (transitive)] > speckle
powderc1380
besprenga1425
prick1530
sprinkle1551
peckle1570
speckle1570
speck1580
pepper?1605
pounce1610
freckle1613
freck1621
stipplea1774
punctuate1777
dot1784
puncture1848
bespeckle1860
prickle1888
tick1910
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Picoter, to peckle, to pricke thicke, to specke.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Maculer, to spot, blot; specke, speckle, bespatter.
1805 R. Southey Madoc i. vi. 61 A beautiful and populous plain it was;..And many a single dwelling specking it.
1835 N. P. Willis Pencillings I. xii. 89 Only broken by a few prostrate figures, just specking its wide area.
1853 E. C. Gaskell Cranford i Trim gardens..without a weed to speck them.
b. In passive: To be covered, marked, or diversified with (or by) specks or spots.
ΚΠ
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 429 Each Flour of slender stalk, whose head though gay Carnation, Purple, Azure, or spect with Gold, Hung drooping unsustaind. View more context for this quotation
1678 London Gaz. No. 1337/4 A Little white lap Spaniel Dog,..his legs speckt with brown.
a1732 J. Gay Epist. xiii, in Poems (1790) I. 217 When I some antique jar behold, Or white, or blue, or speck'd with gold.
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel (1823) I. 67 Pasture speck'd with sheep, and horse, and cow.
1845 ‘E. Warburton’ Crescent & Cross I. 339 The lake was soon specked by people swimming, or rowing themselves on logs of wood.
1870 D. Rock Textile Fabrics (S. Kensington Mus.) 40 They are specked all over with quatrefoil spots.
2. intransitive. To move or fly like specks.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > move in the air [verb (intransitive)] > like specks
speck1821
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel II. 197 The sweeping rack That specks like wool-flocks through the purple sky.
3. transitive. To go over (a woven fabric) and remove specks or other blemishes.
ΚΠ
1895 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. II.
4. To convert into a mere speck.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > reduce in size or extent [verb (transitive)] > very small
atomize1645
speck1898
1898 G. Meredith Odes French Hist. 90 Specked overhead, the imminent vulture wings At poise.
5. Australian. [Both this and sense 1 of specking n. may properly represent an abbreviation of speculate v.: compare spec n.1]
a. intransitive. To search for small particles of gold or opal on the surface.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > mining > mine [verb (intransitive)] > prospect > types of prospecting for gold, opal, etc.
stampede1849
speck1888
snipe1909
1888 H. Lawson His Father's Mate in Stories (1964) I. 139 A pick and shovel, and a gold dish..with which he used to go ‘a-speckin'’ and ‘fossickin'’ amongst the old mullock heaps.
1926 Spectator 14 Aug. 240/2 Went ‘specking’ in nearby creeks. Got colours of gold but no nuggets.
1969 E. Waller And there's Opal out There 116 A couple of tourists specking for bits of potch and opal.
b. transitive. To search the surface of (the ground) for traces of gold or opal; to discover (particles of gold, etc.) in this manner.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > mining > mine [verb (transitive)] > prospect (region) > types of prospecting for gold, opal, etc.
pothole1887
speck1903
snipe1909
1903 R. Bedford True Eyes lviii. 305 With little cries of delight he ‘specked’ a four-ounce slug of the red gold.
1903 R. Bedford True Eyes lx. 315 They had sieved and dry-blown and ‘specked’ the little tongue of auriferous soil.
1936 I. L. Idriess Cattle King xxiv. 211 Next morning they picked up gold. In trembling excitement they ‘specked’ piece after piece.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
speckv.2
northern dialect.
transitive. To patch or mend (shoes) with ‘specks’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > making footwear > make footwear [verb (transitive)] > repair or renovate > in specific way
forefoot1465
welt1483
spetch1582
speck1681
tap1746
heel-tap1763
fox1796
resole1821
refoot1827
tap-piece1903
1681 in J. R. Magrath Flemings in Oxf. (1913) II. App. M. 313 Paid unto Jo. Thompson of Hawkeshead shoemaker for soaling and Specking of Georges, Michaels, Richards & Rogers shoes, 2s.
1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby
1898 B. Kirkby Lakeland Words 138 Speck, patch an' darn.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2020).
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