Dappled
adjective /ˈdæpəld/ — Marked with patches of light and shadow; spotted or flecked.
Definition
Having a mottled or spotted pattern — particularly the effect of sunlight filtering through leaves, creating moving patches of light and dark on the ground below.
Beyond the definition
Dappled is a sensory word. You know it from the floor of a forest in summer, from the coat of a horse, from afternoon light through a moving window. Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote 'Pied Beauty' about the glory of dappled things — the freckled, pied variations of the world.
Origin & history
Middle English, possibly from Old Norse 'depill' (spot) or related to 'apple' — dapple grey horses have coats the colour and size of apple markings.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The forest floor was dappled — light through canopy, shifting with the breeze.
She walked in the dappled shade, not quite sun, not quite shadow.
Dappled is the right word for that particular quality of afternoon light.
How to use it
This entry uses an adjective. Follow the examples for the nouns it describes and its position in the sentence.
Choose “Dappled” when the meaning fits your context: Having a mottled or spotted pattern — particularly the effect of sunlight filtering through leaves, creating moving patches of light and dark on the ground below.
Synonyms
flecked, mottled, stippled, pied, spotted
Antonyms
uniform, solid, plain
Related words
Questions about this word
What does "Dappled" mean?
Dappled is adjective meaning: Marked with patches of light and shadow; spotted or flecked.. Having a mottled or spotted pattern — particularly the effect of sunlight filtering through leaves, creating moving patches of light and dark on the ground below.
Where does the word "Dappled" come from?
Middle English, possibly from Old Norse 'depill' (spot) or related to 'apple' — dapple grey horses have coats the colour and size of apple markings.