speckledadj.
/ˈspɛk(ə)ld/ Covered, dotted, or marked with (numerous) speckles or specks; variegated or flecked with spots of a different colour from that of the main body; spotted.
1. figurative.1614 T. Adams Diuells Banket i. 25 The Conscience growes more speckled by them, till men become not onely spotted, but spots.
a. In predicative use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > variegation > spot of colour > [adjective] > speckling > speckled
freckledc1380
specked1382
specky1382
splecked1382
peckleda1400
speckleda1400
pleckedc1410
frecknyc1440
sparkled1480
spurtled1513
sprittleda1522
spreckled1535
speckle1536
pickled1552
spink1558
bespecked1565
spanged1582
spinked1588
spangled1590
dotted1601
bespeckled1607
peppery1610
peppered1694
fleckled1700
spankled1703
speckly1705
pounced1727
punctulateda1728
dotty1795
punctulate1845
naevose1847
peckly1859
polka-dotted1872
stippled1876
oatmeal1880
guttulate1887
naevous1890
stipply1892
thrush-breast1896
skittery1955
a1400 Stockholm Med. MS. ii. 658 in Anglia XVIII. 323 His stalke is..Lyke nedderis hyde spaclyd amonge.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxxi. 143 Þai bene of dyuerse coloures, as rayed, rede, grene and ȝalowe,..and all spekelede.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 467/1 Spaklyd, scutulatus.
1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Div/1 Speckled, maculosus.
1612 T. Taylor Αρχὴν Ἁπάντων: Comm. Epist. Paul to Titus i. 15 He is no better than a leper in Gods eies,..outwardly spotted and speckled like the leopard.
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 138 To have their..Pigeons speckled and painted after their own phantasie.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1662 (1955) III. 318 Thrusting in his arme..the bloud was neere breaking the vaines,..he drawing it out, we found it all speckled.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth V. 265 She usually lays but one [egg], which is speckled.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) I. 579 They are thus speckled, I admit, only on one side.
1861 F. A. Paley in tr. Aeschylus Agamemnon in Trag. (ed. 2) 354/2 If unskilfully mixed it turns quite black externally, and is liable to become dim and speckled after being polished.
1965 Jrnl. Optical Soc. Amer. 55 247 When a diffuse surface is illuminated by a coherent monochromatic source such as a laser, the illuminated area appears speckled.
1978 J. M. Pasachoff & M. L. Kutner University Astron. ii. vi. 148 At any one instant, the image of a star through a large telescope looks speckled because different parts of the image are affected by different small turbulent areas in the earth's atmosphere.
b. Const. with something, esp. of a colour different from that of the main surface or material.
ΚΠ
1483 W. Caxton in tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 353/1 In the sayd welle appiere yet stones bespryncte and specled as it were with blood.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry IV f. xij Some had the mainferres..dropped & gutted with red, and other had them spekeled with grene.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 203 Two leaves, speckled with great redde spottes.
1653 W. Ramesey Astrologia Restaurata 57 The Heliotropion, is in colour green like a Jasper, speckled with red.
1735 S. Johnson tr. J. Lobo Voy. Abyssinia 114 These Serpents..have..their Bellies speckled with Brown, Black, and Yellow.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. ix. 314 Its luxuriant plain..speckled with gardens and magnificent villas.
1825 W. Scott Betrothed x, in Tales Crusaders (N.Y. ed.) I. 85 As she beheld that the trophies were speckled [ed. 1 specked] with blood.
1891 Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip 27 23 With a dark zone of different shades of brown and black round the small end and speckled with the same colours on the other part.
2. In attributive use.in extended use.1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. i. 334 How many loathsome swarmes Of speckled poysons..in close Ambush lurke.1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 116 A Snake..renew'd in all the speckl'd Pride Of pompous Youth. View more context for this quotationc1760 T. Smollett Ode to Leven-Water 13 The springing trout in speckled pride.
a. Of animals, their skin, parts, etc. speckled beauty, a fine trout.
ΚΠ
1482 W. Caxton Trevisa's Higden ii. xi. 86 Alle the spekeld lammes and kyddes.
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) ii. sig. Biv The adder..Rered for wrath swelling her speckled neck.
1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus (new ed.) sig. Fiv v A foxe though he haue not so gawdye a skin as the Leopard, hath more wit then the speckled foole.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A5v She..Turning fierce, her speckled taile aduaunst.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 5 [Sharks] are alwayes directed by a little specled fish, called a pilot fish.
1675 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Odysses xiv. 166 A Goatskin..Of which a speckl'd wild Goat had been flaid.
1735 W. Somervile Chace i. 247 His Ears and Legs Fleckt here and there, in gay enamell'd Pride Rival the speckled Pard.
1789 E. Darwin Bot. Garden: Pt. II ii. 109 Two Serpent-forms..plough'd their foamy way with speckled breasts.
1832 E. Bulwer-Lytton Eugene Aram I. i. v. 77 The speckled trout, fresh from the stream.
1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. i. i. 15 A clean old woman..talking to some speckled fowls.
1873 G. C. Davies Mountain, Meadow & Mere xiv. 112 In the mean time I had landed two speckled beauties.
b. Of flowers, stone, cloth, garments, etc.
ΚΠ
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 191v Veronica..beareth a leafe like the Blackthorne, with a blewish speckled flowre.
1599 in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (new ed.) II. i. 211 Ouer the body they haue built a tombe of speckled stone.
1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Gespickelt laken, speckled or Spotted cloath.
1682 London Gaz. No. 1757/4 A dark-colour'd Stuff Riding-Coat,..and speckled Stockings.
1708 W. Sewel Large Dict. Eng. & Dutch ii Spekkige boter of kaas, speckled butter or cheese.
1843 J. E. Portlock Rep. Geol. Londonderry 525 The cavities are lined with green earth, and, from their number and minuteness, give a very speckled appearance to the mass.
1887 W. Besant World went very well Then I. ii. 41 He wore a common speckled shirt like the watermen's children.
c. figurative. Of sin, vice, etc.: Characterized by, full of, moral blemishes or defects.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > corruption > [adjective]
sickc960
foulOE
unwholec1000
thewlessa1327
corrupt1340
viciousc1340
unwholesomec1374
infecta1387
rustyc1390
unsound?a1400
rottenc1400
rotten-heartedc1405
cankereda1450
infectedc1449
wasted1483
depravate?1520
poisoned1529
deformed1555
poisonous1555
reprobate1557
corrupted1563
prave1564
base-minded1573
tainted1577
Gomorrhean1581
vice-like1589
depraved1593
debauched1598
deboshedc1598
tarish1601
sunk1602
speckled1603
deboist1604
diseased1608
ulcerous1611
vitial1614
debauchc1616
deboise1632
pravous1653
depravea1711
unhealthy1821
scrofulous1842
septic1914
society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > [adjective] > polluted or defiled > characterized by moral blemishes
spotted?a1425
speckled1603
1603 T. Dekker et al. Patient Grissill sig. A4 Before my soule looke black with speckled sinne, My hands shal make me pale deathes vnderling.
1608 J. Day Law-trickes sig. A4 Her credit is more foule, Then speckled scandall, or black murders soule.
1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn xiv, in Poems 7 And speckl'd vanity Will sicken soon and die.
1664 Duchess of Newcastle CCXI Sociable Lett. xv. 26 Being unspotted, and free from that speckled Vice.
d. colloquial. Of a mixed character or nature; motley.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > variety > [adjective] > miscellaneous or heterogeneous > incongruously mixed
medleya1400
intermellé1487
farraginary1538
hotchpotch1556
promiscuous1579
hotchpot1588
pied1594
motley1601
hodge-podge1602
promiscual1602
macaronic1611
farraginous1616
throughother1626
mishmash1652
promiscous1656
hotchpotchly1674
hodge-podging1772
hashy1781
mixty-maxty1786
motleyed1798
gallimaufrical1836
odd-and-end1836
chow-chow1844
speckled1845
ragbag1882
disherent1890
1845 S. Judd Margaret i. x. 65 It was a singularly freaked and speckled group.
1909 Daily Chron. 16 Dec. 7/1 They are certainly not all desirable, taken separately. It must be owned that they are usually a speckled lot.
Compounds
C1.
a. In the specific names of birds, fishes, animals, etc. (see quots. and the nouns).A number of moth names are given in Rennie Consp. Butterfl. & Moths (1832).
(a)
speckled brant n.
ΚΠ
1888 G. Trumbull Names & Portraits Birds 11 American White-fronted goose,..Laughing goose,..known in various parts of the West as Prairie Brant, Speckled Belly, and Speckled Brant.
speckled buzzard n.
ΚΠ
1781 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds I. i. 97 Speckled Buzzard,..in shape like our common Buzzard.
speckled canon wren n.
ΚΠ
1884 E. Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds (ed. 2) iii. 276 Catherpes mexicanus conspersus, Speckled Cañon Wren.
speckled diver n.
ΚΠ
1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. iii. 341 The greatest speckled Diver or Loon: Colymbus maximus caudatus.
1785 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds III. ii. 341 Speckled Diver, Colymbus stellatus.
1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words Speckled-Diver, the young of the red-throated diver, Colymbus septentrionalis.
speckled finch n.
ΚΠ
1815 J. F. Stephens Shaw's Gen. Zool. IX. ii. 438 Speckled Finch (Fringilla bononiensis).
speckled gallinule n.
ΚΠ
1785 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds III. i. 266 Speckled Gallinule..frequents the marshes of Germany.
speckled heron n.
ΚΠ
1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. iii. 283 The greater speckled or red Heron of Aldrovand.
speckled loon n.
ΚΠ
1785 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds III. ii. 341 Greatest speckled Loon... This bird is pretty frequent in England.
speckled partridge hawk n.
ΚΠ
1772 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 62 383 Speckled Partridge Hawk, at Hudson's Bay. The name is derived from its feeding on the birds of the Grous tribe, commonly called partridges, at Hudson's Bay.
speckled sparrow n.
ΚΠ
1668 W. Charleton Onomasticon Zoicon 78 Passeres Maculatus,..the speckled Sparrow, with a yellow tail.
1781 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds I. i. 255 Speckled Sparrow... Back, and rump, black, white, and yellowish, mixed.
speckled thrush n.
ΚΠ
1781 J. Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds I. i. 87 Speckled Thrush,..speckled with small numerous brown spots.
(b)
speckled cod n.
ΚΠ
1836 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Fishes II. 164 The Speckled Cod is frequently taken in the weirs at Swansea.
1880–4 F. Day Fishes Great Brit. & Ireland I. 278 Turton's ‘speckled cod’ may have been so coloured due to disease.
speckled file-fish n.
ΚΠ
1804 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. V. ii. 417 Speckled File-fish, Balistes Punctatus.
speckled garrupa n.
ΚΠ
1884 D. S. Jordan in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 263 Speckled Garrupa (Sebastichthys nebulosus).
speckled goby n.
ΚΠ
1863 J. Couch Hist. Fishes Brit. Islands II. 170 Speckled Goby (Gobius reticulatus, Cuvier)..is known in the Mediterranean.
speckled hen n.
ΚΠ
1877 C. Hallock Sportsman's Gazetteer 276 Locally they are..severally known as yellow perch,..speckled hen, etc.
1888 G. B. Goode Amer. Fishes 56 ‘Marsh Bass’..and ‘Speckled Hen’ are other names applied to one or both species [of bass].
speckled hound-fish n.
ΚΠ
1672 J. Josselyn New-Englands Rarities 24 Blew Fish or Hound Fish, two kinds, speckled Hound Fish, and blew Hound Fish called Horse Fish.
speckled moray n.
ΚΠ
1876 G. B. Goode Catal. Fishes Bermudas 72 Gymnothorax moringa, Speckled Maray.
1884 G. B. Goode in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 629 The Morays—Murænidæ... The most important species is the Speckled Moray, Sidera ocellata.
speckled perch n.
ΚΠ
1877 C. Hallock Sportsman's Gazetteer 378 Silver Perch, or Speckled Perch.
1888 G. B. Goode Amer. Fishes 71 Pomoxys annularis..has other names of local application as..‘Goggle Eye’, ‘Speckled Perch’.
speckled trout n.
ΚΠ
1882 D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert Synopsis Fishes N. Amer. 320 Salvelinus fontinalis, Brook Trout; Speckled Trout.
1884 D. S. Jordan in G. B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 504 The Dolly Varden Trout, Salvelinus malma,..is known in the mountains as ‘Lake Trout’, ‘Bull Trout’, ‘Speckled Trout’.
speckled trunk-fish n.
ΚΠ
1804 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. V. ii. 428 Speckled Trunk-Fish, Ostracion Meleagris.
(c)
speckled deer n.
ΚΠ
1797 Encycl. Brit. IV. 306/2 The Axis, or Speckled Deer, has slender trifurcated horns.
speckled emys n.
ΚΠ
c1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. IV. 253 China yields the Speckled Emys.
speckled slow-worm n.
ΚΠ
1802 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. III. ii. 581 Speckled Slow-Worm, Anguis Meleagris;..nearly allied to the common Slow-Worm.
speckled tortoise n.
ΚΠ
1802 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. III. i. 30 Testudo Europæa... The speckled Tortoise is of rather small size.
1831 E. Griffith et al. Cuvier's Animal Kingdom IX. 11 The Speckled Tortoise, Testudo Europæa.
speckled turtle n.
ΚΠ
1884 F. W. True in G.B. Goode et al. Fisheries U.S.: Sect. I 158 The ‘Spotted Tortoise’ or ‘Speckled Turtle’, Chelopus guttatus.
b.
speckled-back plover n. (in U.S.) the ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres.
ΚΠ
1890 Cent. Dict. at Plover Speckled-back or streaked-back plover.
speckled wood n. (a) a variety of wood having speckled markings; esp. the South American snake-wood or letter-wood, Brosimum aubletii; (b) a brown butterfly with yellowish spots, Pararge egeria, found in lightly shaded places in Britain, much of continental Europe, and North Africa. Also speckled osier (see quot. 1885).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > [noun] > woods with specific markings
speckle-wood1619
speckled wood1656
pigeon wood?1740
zebrawood1768
snake-wood1843
tiger-wood1858
tortoise-wood1866
zebrano1908
zingana1911
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Rhopalocera (butterflies) > [noun] > family Satyridae > genus Pararge > pararge aegeria (speckled wood)
speckled wood1766
1656 Act Commwealth (1658) c. 20. 476 Log-wood... Speckled-wood.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 109 What extent of Land about Surrenam is beset with speckled wood.
1703 W. Dampier Voy. New Holland ii. 55 Here are Dye-woods, as Fustick, &c. with Woods for other uses, as speckled Wood, Brazil, &c.
1766 M. Harris Aurelian 132 Speckled wood... It flies in woods. The caterpillar feeds on grass.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 745 A beautiful piece of speckled wood, made use of in cabinet work.
1843 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. I. 106 Snake wood, Letter or Speckled wood, is used at Demerara, Surinam, and along the banks of the Orinoko, for the bows of the Indians.
1885 C. G. W. Lock Workshop Receipts 4th Ser. 277/1 The best variety [of the Salix viminalis] is known under several names, as..the..blotched osier, and speckled osier.
1974 Lady 1 Aug. 169/1 Butterflies abound..from the innumerable brown ringlets, ‘gate-keepers’, speckled woods and meadow browns, to various beauties like the common blues.
c.
speckled yellows n. a disease of sugar beet characterized by distorted and discoloured leaves, caused by a deficiency of manganese.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > deficiency diseases > associated with crop or food plants
greenback1926
grey leaf1928
marsh spot1931
tea yellows1931
speckled yellows1938
grey speck1947
1938 Brit. Sugar Beet Rev. XII. 77/2 Fields affected with ‘Speckled Yellows’ can be recognised from a considerable distance.
1959 New Biol. 30 91 Diseases such as ‘grey speck’ of oats, ‘speckled yellows’ of sugar beet and ‘marsh spot’ of peas are caused by the low availability of manganese in the soil.
1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 15 Mar. 149/2 (caption) Sugar Beet leaf—illustrating deficiency of manganese (‘speckled yellows’).
C2. speckled-faced, speckled-tailed adjs.
ΚΠ
1884 E. Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds (ed. 2) iii. 278 Thryothorus bewicki spilurus, Speckled-tailed Wren.
1884 Daily News 10 Dec. 3/1 The black or speckled-faced class [of sheep].
1886 Pall Mall Gaz. 7 Dec. 10/2 Fat wether sheep, of any blackfaced or speckledfaced mountain breed.
Derivatives
ˈspeckledness n. the state of being speckled; spottiness.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > variegation > spot of colour > [noun] > small spot or speckle > speckled condition
speckledness1611
speckedness1617
nevosity1656
dottiness1795
punctulation1801
speckiness1857
bespecklement1883
troutiness1895
skitteriness1952
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Haglure, the maile (or speckledness) of the coat of a hawke.
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 200 The speckledness of his shell.
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Speckledness, Spottedness.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.a1400