Word of the Day for Friday November 4, 2005 dapple \DAP-uhl\, noun: 1. A small contrasting spot or blotch. 2. A mottled appearance, especially of the coat of an animal (as a horse). transitive verb: To mark with patches of a color or shade; to spot. intransitive verb: To become dappled. adjective: Marked with contrasting patches or spots; dappled. Look at... his cows with their comic camouflage dapples .... --Arthur C. Danto, "Sometimes Red," [1]ArtForum, January 2002 70 diamond- and hexagonal-shaped holes, 35 between the North End ramp and the northbound lanes, and 35 between the northbound and southbound lanes, allow light to filter through and dapple the river below. --Raphael Lewis, "A walk into the future," [2]Boston Globe, May 9, 2002 Gentle shafts of sunlight... dapple the grass. --Gail Sheehy, [3]Hillary's Choice _________________________________________________________ Dapple derives from Old Norse depill, "a spot." References 1. http://www.artforum.com/ 2. http://www.boston.com/globe/ 3. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345436563/ref%3Dnosim/lexico Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=dapple Note: Audio pronunciation available only to Premium members. To learn more about the benefits of Premium membership, visit our site: http://dictionary.reference.com/premium/?r=9