fleck

name

1. A surname.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English *flekk, *flekke (attested in Middle English flekked (“spotted, flecked”)), from Old Norse flekkr (“spot”), from Proto-Germanic *flekka-. Cognate with Dutch vlek, German Fleck, Swedish fläck.

1. A flake.

   “two flecks of Lard cut with your knife”

2. A lock, as of wool.

   “With teeth they smooth their work, as on it slips, And flecks of wool stick to their wither'd lips”

   “A single fleck of wool from his sock got caught on a splintery floorboard and that was enough to convict him.”

3. A small spot or streak; a speckle.

   “So fret not, like an idle girl, / That life is dash'd with flecks of sin. / Abide: thy wealth is gathered in, / When Time hath sunder'd shell from pearl.”

4. A small amount.

   “a fleck of hope”

   “a fleck of imagination”

verb

Etymology: From Middle English *flekk, *flekke (attested in Middle English flekked (“spotted, flecked”)), from Old Norse flekkr (“spot”), from Proto-Germanic *flekka-. Cognate with Dutch vlek, German Fleck, Swedish fläck.

1. To mark (something) with small spots.

   “So this was my future home, I thought![…]Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.”

   “It was a perfect June day, with only a few light clouds flecking a pure blue sky.”