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Glite Dictionary
mottling

mottling

1 6.9
A pattern of spots or patches with different colors
  • noun
  • /ˈmɒt.lɪŋ/
translation icon : moteado
  • During late summer and fall of 1991 and 1992, the researchers moved in close when they sighted animals and photographed the distinctive mottling pattern around the dorsal fin.
  • subtle mottling
  • green mottling
  • surface mottling

Examples

  • In nature, the mottling on certain leaves helps to camouflage the insects that live on them.

  • The artist achieved a beautiful effect by using mottling to create depth in the painting.

  • Individual blue whales can be identified by the mottling.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The heads were dull green, with a mottling of dark browns and blacks that extended down the slender necks.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • She felt a skin pattern flush over her body, a pied mottling speckled with white spots.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Great horned owls are beautifully camouflaged with mixtures of brown, gray, and black mottling.

    Blog text (18)

  • The designer admired the mottling of colors on the fabric, which added a unique texture.

Synonyms

spotting
vsmottling
4 3.9

Making small spots or stains appear on something

covers both making spots and the resulting colored blotches
variegation
vsmottling
1 8.6

Different colours in parts of a plant, like leaves

refers to spots or blotches of different shades rather than color patterns
blotchiness
vsmottling
1 6.2

Uneven patches on skin or cloth

focuses on colored spots or blotches produced by a process
maculation
vsmottling
9.9

The state of being marked with spots or stains

is the process or result of colored spots rather than only the action

How Spotted

mottling
1 6.9
spotting
4 3.9

Surface Forms

mottling singular
mottlings plural

Morphology

mottling = mottle (transparent) = mottle + ing

Formed by the productive addition of -ing to the verb 'mottle' to indicate the process or result, so the meaning is directly derived from the base.

Etymology

Mottling comes from an old word mote, meaning 'speck' or 'small spot', and the related verb mottle meant to make little spots. So mottling is the spotted or blotched pattern you see on stone, skin, or leaves.