A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 2001 (DOST Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1633-1655
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,0,0,0]
Speckled, adj. [ME and e.m.E. spaclyd (a1400), spekelede (c1400), specled (Caxton), speckled (a1547). Cf. MDu. spekelede. Cf. also late ME and e.m.E. spakle (Prompt. Parv.), speckle (1495), both ultim. f. OE specca a speck.] Of an animal: Speckled, flecked, spotted. — 1633 (1711) Sibbald's Orkn. & Shetl. 22.
The sheep … are generally black and speckled ?1655 Fugitive Poetry II xxviii 2/43.
The mungrell geese be east the Tay The speckled goats be west the Spey
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Speckled adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/speckled>
