liver-spotted dalmatian
- noun
- /ˈlɪvərˌspɑtɪd ˌdælmeɪˈʃən/
- Unlike most Dalmatians, a liver-spotted dalmatian has brown spots instead of black.
Examples
-
Their new puppy is a beautiful liver-spotted dalmatian with expressive brown eyes.
-
At the dog show, the judge admired the unique markings of the liver-spotted dalmatian.
-
I saw a liver-spotted dalmatian at the dog park yesterday.
-
Have you ever owned a liver-spotted dalmatian?
-
Their new puppy is a beautiful liver-spotted dalmatian with expressive brown eyes.
-
Unlike most Dalmatians, a liver-spotted dalmatian has brown spots instead of black.
-
At the dog show, the judge admired the unique markings of the liver-spotted dalmatian.
Synonyms
Having small brown spots often seen on eggs or feathers
Covered with small brown spots
Surface Forms
Morphology
liver-spotted + Dalmatian
The phrase is compositionally built: 'liver-spotted' combines 'liver' + 'spotted' to mean a Dalmatian with spots the colour of liver (i.e. brown), so the structure and basic idea are predictable from the parts. However, many B1 learners will not know that 'liver' is used as a colour term for dark brown, so the precise shade and conventional usage may not be obvious without prior exposure.
Etymology
Liver-spotted dalmatian comes from using liver to describe a dark brown colour and spotted to show it has marks. So a liver-spotted dalmatian is simply a Dalmatian with 'brown' 'spots' instead of the usual black.