dappled

[dap-uhld]

adjective

1. having spots of a different shade, tone, or color from the background; mottled.

Other Word Forms

• undappled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dappled¹

1350–1400; Middle English, probably < Scandinavian; akin to Old Norse depill spot

Example Sentences

Picnic in our backpacks, my husband and I hiked in from the Palomarin Headlands — about 2.5 miles — along cliffs where you can spot gray and humpback whales, and shaded paths where dappled shadows dance.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Six Feet Under” is dappled with Lynchian homages – easy enough to explain in a show about a family that dwells in the figurative crawlspace between life and death, whose business is guiding families through loss.

Read more on Salon

If a political debate is your idea of a good time — rather than, say, sitting on the sugary sands of some beach watching a dappled sunset play on the water, more power to you!

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It’s an ideal companion piece to the site-specific daybed Skelly made to best enjoy the view from the sunroom’s expansive windows, where dappled light filters through an outdoor screen of towering bamboo.

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The tree’s winter silhouette and dappled bark are a marriage of form and grace, best when planted against an evergreen backdrop.

Read more on Seattle Times