mottle
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L324192 on Wikidata ↗verb
- mark with dots or splotch
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈmɒt.əl/ / /ˈmɑ.təl/ / [ˈmɑ.ɾɫ̩]
noun
Etymology: 1670-80. Probably back-formation from motley.
- A distinguishing blotch of colour.
- A mottled or spotted pattern.
“The most common symptom is a mild mottle on the youngest leaves of infected plants.”
“SLRSV, being mostly latent in strawberries and other fruit crops, is of very minor importance. It can cause some mottle and decline in certain strawberry cultivars.”
- Any of several species of genus Logania of butterflies, found from Burma to the Philippines and New Guinea.
verb
Etymology: 1670-80. Probably back-formation from motley.
- To mark with blotches of different color, or shades of color, as if stained; to spot; to maculate.
“Between the grey mist of rainclouds the sun suddenly appeared to mottle the wet asphalt of Marble Arch in patches of silver and ebony.”