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tessellate

[verb tes-uh-leyt; adjective tes-uh-lit, -leyt]
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verb (used with object), tes·sel·lat·ed, tes·sel·lat·ing.
  1. to form of small squares or blocks, as floors or pavements; form or arrange in a checkered or mosaic pattern.
adjective
  1. tessellated.

Origin of tessellate

1785–95; < Latin tessellātus mosaic, equivalent to tessell(a) small square stone (diminutive of tessera tessera) + -ātus -ate1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for tessellate

tessellate

verb
  1. (tr) to construct, pave, or inlay with a mosaic of small tiles
  2. (intr) (of identical shapes) to fit together exactlytriangles will tessellate but octagons will not

Word Origin

C18: from Latin tessellātus checked, from tessella small stone cube, from tessera
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