variegate

[vair-ee-i-geyt, vair-i-geyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR variegate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), var·i·e·gat·ed, var·i·e·gat·ing.

to make varied in appearance, as by adding different colors.

to give variety to; diversify.

Origin of variegate

1645–55; < Late Latin variegātus (past participle of variegāre to make (something) look varied), equivalent to Latin vari(us) various + -eg- (combining form of agere to do; see agent) + -ātus -ate¹

Related formsvar·i·e·ga·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for variegate

smear, spot, daub, band, fleck, stripe, slash, dapple, marble, vein, striate, strake

Examples from the Web for variegate

Historical Examples of variegate

The Ashburners and Sedgwicks continue your tradition and even ornament or variegate it with their own original force.
Notes of a Son and Brother
Henry James
Possibly the purple patches of relaxation which variegate the lives of the inmates are too few and too far between.
The Vagrancy Problem.
William Harbutt Dawson
Their clothes they variegate by steeping them in dyes, which produce a colour not easily effaced.
The Geography of Strabo, Volume II (of 3)
Strabo
Body black or sordidly metallic greenish gray, usually yellow pollinose or variegate; gen at most hairy above.
Handbook of Medical Entomology
William Albert Riley

British Dictionary definitions for variegate

variegate

verb (tr)

to alter the appearance of, esp by adding different colours

to impart variety to

Derived Formsvariegation, noun

Word Origin for variegate

C17: from Late Latin variegāre, from Latin varius diverse, various + agere to make

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 variegate

"to mark with different colors," 1640s (implied in variegation), from Late Latin variegatus "made of various sorts or colors," past participle of variegare "diversify with different colors," from varius "spotted, changing, varying" (see vary) + root of agere "to drive" (see act). Related: Variegated; vareiegating.