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fleck

[flek]
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noun
  1. a speck; a small bit: a fleck of dirt.
  2. a spot or small patch of color, light, etc.: the dapple mare with flecks of gray.
  3. a spot or mark on the skin, as a freckle.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to mark with a fleck or flecks; spot; dapple.
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Origin of fleck

1350–1400; Middle English flekked spotted; akin to Old Norse flekkr spot, streak, Old High German flec (German Fleck), Middle Low German, Middle Dutch vlecken to soil
Related formsfleck·less, adjectivefleck·less·ly, adverbfleck·y, adjectiveun·flecked, adjective
Can be confusedflecks flex

Synonyms

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4. bespeckle, spatter, dot, speck, daub.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fleckless

Historical Examples

  • The papers extended across the hall and into a prim, fleckless parlor.

    Anne Of Avonlea

    Lucy Maud Montgomery

  • Antony settled his fleckless straw hat firmly upon his head and tightened his grip on his stick.

    An Idyll of All Fools' Day

    Josephine Daskam Bacon

  • Then the sky resumes the fleckless blueness which characterises it during the greater part of the year.

  • The sky was fleckless by this time and it did not seem possible that another storm could come up.

  • Out of the blue void of a fleckless sky, came whooping at dawn a boisterous wind.

    Little Miss Grouch

    Samuel Hopkins Adams

British Dictionary definitions for fleckless

fleck

noun
  1. a small marking or streak; speckle
  2. a small particle; specka fleck of dust
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verb
  1. Also: flecker (tr) to mark or cover with flecks; speckle
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Word Origin

C16: probably from Old Norse flekkr stain, spot; related to Old High German flec spot, plot of land
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fleckless

fleck

n.

1590s, from fleck (v.) or else from Middle Dutch vlecke or Old Norse flekkr.

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fleck

v.

late 14c., probably from Old Norse flekka "to spot," from Proto-Germanic *flekk- (cf. Middle Dutch vlecke, Old High German flec, German Fleck), from PIE *pleik- "to tear" (see flay). Related: Flecked; flecking.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper