dappled
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dappled
1350–1400; Middle English, probably < Scandinavian; akin to Old Norse depill spot
Explanation
Dappled is an adjective that means marked with spots or rounded patches. If you can picture Bambi's dappled rear, then you are on the right track. The origins of dappled are a bit mysterious. Its use as an adjective may date from around 1400, from a Middle English word that referred to the markings on an apple, or maybe to gray horses with round blotches that resembled apples. Dappled is usually used to describe markings on a horse or a deer, though photographers also appreciate "the dappled effect of sunlight filtered through leaves."
Vocabulary lists containing dappled
The Kite Runner
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"The Song of Wandering Aengus" by W.B. Yeats
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"The Song of Wandering Aengus" and "Sonnet 43," Vocabulary from the poems
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We can just make out stripy ears in the dappled shade inside the Scottish wildcat enclosure.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
Trees along the street offered dappled shade, and there were several other cute restaurants nearby, many with outdoor spaces of their own.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Yet the result was a unique, multi-faceted sculptural adornment to Central Park that still shimmers compellingly in the dappled light of springtime, while convincingly elevating architecture to the status of fine art.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Filming in woods near Nara, and then in the Komyoji forest in Kyoto prefecture, Miyagawa created a latticework of sunlight with tree branches and leaves forming a living carpet of dappled shadows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
She followed, settling next to her friend in the dappled light.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
