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liver spot

liver spot

4 4.8
A small brown patch on older people's skin caused by sun or aging
  • noun
  • /ˈlɪvər spɑt/
translation icon : mancha hepática
  • Covered in liver spots... like an old guy.
  • skin dotted with liver spots
  • liver spots on her face
  • liver spots on the back

If you have the liver spots like on your back, like the way he has, that is you died lying down.

Examples

  • This afternoon, the liver spots against the pale skin looked like ink on parchment.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • His hands spread out on the board before him, old hands, networked wrinkles, and dark liver spots.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • "Pete pulled up his sleeve and pointed to the liver spots on the back of his hand and arm."

    Fiction book (1993)
  • On his right cheek were several liver spots.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • There were liver spots speckling his dome.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • This lotion is superb at removing liver spots.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • His bio said he was sixty-eight, but if it wasn't for the liver spots on the backs of his hands, he could have passed for at least ten years younger.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Pete pointed to the liver spot on his hand, which had developed from years of sun exposure.

  • As she aged, several liver spots appeared on her skin, indicating the effects of the sun.

  • He noticed a new liver spot on his arm, a reminder of the many summers spent at the beach.

Synonyms

lentigo
vsliver spot
  • Specialized
9.9

A small brown spot on the skin that appears from sun or age

is a more general brown patch often appearing in older people

How Noticeable

birthmark
43 1.3
liver spot
4 4.8
mole
47 2.3
freckle
59 1.0

Surface Forms

liver spot singular
liver spots plural

Morphology

liver + spot

This is a straightforward color + noun compound: 'liver' here denotes a reddish-brown hue and 'spot' denotes a small mark, so the meaning 'a small brownish patch on the skin' is directly derivable from the constituents. The adjective‑noun compositional pattern is common across languages and follows transparent semantic logic, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand the MWE.

Etymology

Liver spot may come from an old belief that these brown skin patches came from the 'liver', because people thought liver problems showed on the skin. So the image of a dark, liver-like patch made the name stick, even though today we know they are usually caused by sun and age.