Dappling
/ˈdæp.lɪŋ/noun
The act or effect of marking with small spots or patches of light and shade.
Did you know?In English, *dapple* developed from a word for a spotted or mottled pattern, and the same root family also gave us *diaper* and *debris*—a reminder that words about texture can travel in strange, hidden ways.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dheub-
“to be deep, hollow; to sink down”
Old English
Old English
deop
“deep”
Middle English
Middle English
dapel
“spotted, mottled”
Late Middle English
Middle English
dapplen
“to mark with spots or patches of light and shade”
Modern English
English
dappling
“marking with small spots or patches of light and shade”