mottle

mottle — noun

1. a single patch of a different color on a surface, usually one of many that toget

1.nounC2
Definition

a single patch of a different color on a surface, usually one of many that together form an uneven pattern.

Example

Mira noticed a dark mottle on the underside of the old marble table.

singular 'a mottle' for one individual patch

Apinya spotted a pale mottle on the tomato leaf and called the gardener over.

Common collocations
  • a dark mottle
  • a pale mottle
  • a small mottle
Synonyms
  • spot

    everyday word; a mottle is specifically irregular and color-based

  • blotch

    a mottle is usually softer-edged than a blotch

  • patch

    patch is neutral about color; a mottle implies color contrast

Grammar Patterns

a mottle of [color]

Usage Note

Used as a count noun for ONE individual patch within a larger pattern; the pattern as a whole is described by sense 2 or by the mass-noun reading of 'mottle'.

Common Mistakes

The whole wall had a beautiful mottle.
The whole wall had a beautiful mottle pattern.
for the overall pattern use sense 2 or the attributive form; sense 1 names one patch.

2. the overall look of a surface that is covered with patches of different colors a

2.nounC2
Definition

the overall look of a surface that is covered with patches of different colors arranged in no clear order.

Example

The horse's coat showed a soft mottle of grey and white across its flank.

common frame: a mottle of [color1] and [color2]

Ilan loved the brown and gold mottle of the autumn leaves on the path.

Common collocations
  • a soft mottle
  • a warm mottle
  • a mottle of light
  • a mottle of color
Synonyms
  • marbling

    stronger sense of veined or swirled pattern, often in stone or meat

  • dappling

    implies smaller, softer, often light-related spots

  • speckling

    implies smaller, denser, more uniform spots

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

a mottle of [colors]

Usage Note

Names the whole irregular arrangement, not one patch. Distinguish from sense 1 by counting: if you can point to ONE patch, sense 1; if you describe the overall look, sense 2.

Common Mistakes

I counted three mottles on the leaf.
I counted three patches on the leaf.
sense 2 names the whole pattern and rarely takes a plural count; for individual spots use sense 1 or another count noun.

mottle — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

These four verbs all describe covering a surface with marks of different color, but differ in scale, sharpness, and cause. 'Mottle' suggests slow, uneven, often natural change — damp on a ceiling, frost on glass, age on skin — with soft-edged patches of varied sizes. 'Dapple' is the lightest and most poetic, almost always tied to light and shadow falling through leaves; a dappled horse is one with soft, light spots. 'Speckle' implies many small, often uniform dots like freckles or paint spray. 'Blotch' is the harshest — large, hard-edged, often unwanted marks like ink stains or skin rashes. Compare: sunlight 'dapples' a forest floor, age 'mottles' an old hand, freckles 'speckle' a child's nose, and red wine 'blotches' a white tablecloth.

mottle ↗dapple ↗speckle ↗blotch ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • mottled with age
  • mottled with paint
  • a mottle of light

Prepositions

Etymology

Middle EnglishEnglish

Likely a back-formation from 'motley' (late 14th-century English for cloth of mixed colors, the patchwork costume worn by court jesters), reanalysed by English speakers as if 'motley' were 'mottle-y' — full of mottles. By the 17th century 'mottle' was being used as both noun and verb for irregular patches of color on a surface.