fleck
/flɛk
/noun
1A very small patch of colour or light: his blue eyes had grey flecks in them flecks of sunshine...
- The flecks of light that managed their way through the dense leaves danced across her face, gently stopping at her eyes, lighting them like shards of glass on the dawn's rising.
- She landed only a few short feet away; her beautiful feathers danced with flecks of light filtering through the leaves above.
- White flecks of light shone through, like tiny glimmering stars.
Synonyms
spot, mark, patch, pop, dot, speck, speckle, freckle, smudge, smear, streak, stain, blotch, blot, splash, dab, daub
technical petechia
informal splotch, splosh, splodge
rare macule, macula
1.1A small particle or speck of something: brushing a few flecks of dandruff from his suit...
- The sky is deep blue, and it's snowing; glittery flakes drifting down to earth like small flecks of angel dust.
- Her lime green nail polish was chipping, and there were flecks of dirt.
- In other pieces, the swirls and flecks of underlayers resemble the endpapers of antique books.
verb [with object]
Mark or dot with small patches of colour or particles of something: the minarets are flecked with gold leaf...
- Breeding adults have yellow bills, iridescent feathers that shine purple and green and are flecked with white spots.
- His features were twisted and mottled with rage, and foam flecked his lips as he rasped at her.
- His voice rose with each word and spittle flecked his lips.
Synonyms
spot, mark, stain, dot, speckle, bespeckle, freckle, stipple, stud, bestud, blotch, mottle, smudge, streak, splash, spatter, bespatter, scatter, sprinkle;
dirty, soil
informal splotch, splosh, splodge
Scottish & Irish informal slabber
literary besmirch, smirch
Origin
Late Middle English (as a verb): perhaps from Old Norse flekkr (noun), flekka (verb), or from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch vlecke.