speck1
/spɛk
/noun
1A tiny spot: the figure in the distance had become a mere speck...
- Floaters are tiny spots or specks that seem to float across your eyes.
- They are tiny specks admittedly but of such a vivid blue you can spot them a mile off.
- From here the panorama was different and the foreground had rolling hills dotted by tiny, shiny specks which were actually slate tiled roofs reflecting sunlight.
Synonyms
dot, pinprick, spot, fleck, speckle, stain, mark, smudge, blemish
1.1A small particle of a substance: specks of dust...
- Hens herd their chicks from the shade of one log to the next, searching for specks of grain along the way.
- Aside from the occasional specks of dirt and some light grain in dawn/dusk and night scenes, it is a soft transfer but respectable for a twenty-three year old film.
- Riders were arriving with red dirt caked on thick to their faces, with specks of dirt attaching themselves to each singular pore and whisker.
Synonyms
particle, bit, tiny bit, piece, tiny piece, atom, molecule, grain, trace
1.2A rotten spot in fruit.
verb [with object]
Mark with small spots: their skin was specked with goose pimples...
- She played with the edges of the turquoise colored polka dots specking her pajama bottoms.
- Blood spurted everywhere, some specked Wythene's face.
- They both had the same color hair (although Eric's was specked with gray and white,) and the attitude had to run in their blood.
Derivatives
speckless
- In those days, if you walked the street in brand new, speckless clothes they wouldn't be speckless for long!
- You must keep your buttons, accoutrements, and rifle speckless, and have your hair cut in a style which is not becoming to your particular type of beauty.
- I have a blast with the stuff; in an evening, I can easily make a dozen really nice, speckless cards up from one or two negatives.
Origin
Old English specca; compare with the noun speckle.
Rhymes
speck2
/spɛk/noun [mass noun]
A smoked ham of a type produced in NE Italy.Add the radicchio, thyme, speck, prosciutto, and chicken stock and cook for another eight to ten minutes....
- Lay the slices of speck over the melon and serve immediately.
Origin
Via Italian from Dutch spek, German Speck 'fat bacon, whale blubber' (in which sense it was formerly used in English): related to Old English spec.
- language attrition
- language barrier
- language competence
- language contact
- language course
- languaged
- language death
- language disorder
- language engineer
- language engineering
- language event
- language family
- language game
- language group
- language-impaired
- language lab
- language laboratory
- languageless
- language loyalty
- language master
- language nest
- language of flowers
- language organ
- language-particular
- language planner