spotty, a. and n.
(ˈspɒtɪ)
Also 5 spotti, 6–7 spottie.
[f. spot n.1 + -y.]
A. adj.
1. a. Full of, marked with, spots; spotted.
| 1340 Ayenb. 192 Þou ne sselt naȝt maky none sacrefice to God of oxe ne of ssep þet by spotty. 1382 Wyclif Gen. xxx. 35 He seuerde.. the wetheres, dyuerse and spotti. c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton, 1483) iv. xxvi. 71 A clere myrroure wyll more playnly represente the fourmes..of thynges..than wylle another that is fowle and spotty. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. viii. 74 Yf hit [sc. the ram's tongue] be spotty, that a man may wite Yf he bigete hym spotty lombis yonge. 1513 Act 5 Hen. VIII, c. 4 §1 If the same Worsted..taketh any Wet, incontinent it will shew spotty and foul. 1587 L. Mascall Govt. Cattle, Sheep (1627) 200 The spottie Rams will commonly be seene in the Lambes. 1620 Venner Via Recta ii. 40 The colour of the face becommeth pale.., and the skin..polluted with a white spotty deformity. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 291 To descry new Lands, Rivers or Mountains in her spotty Globe. 1816 Singer Hist. Cards 95 note, All the impressions are similar to that of the frontispiece, being spotty or greyish. 1822–7 Good Study Med. (1829) V. 567 The spotty and minutely tubercular lichens. 1874 Ruskin Fors Clav. xlvi. 229 A dozen of the fattest, shiniest, spottiest trout I ever saw. |
| Comb. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. iii. Furies 391 He strangled His spightfull stepdam's Dragon spotty-spangled. 1884 Coues N. Amer. Birds 625 Actodromas,..Spotty-throat Sandpipers. |
b. fig. or in
fig. context.
| a 1400 Leg. Rood (1871) 213 A white lambe, with senn blak Spotty myȝt he neuere bene. 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. iv. viii. (1634) 569 The Church,..whereof all the members are spotty and very uncleane. 1631 R. Byfield Doctr. Sabb. 112 You would prove of Christians, spotty feasters. 1675 N. Lee Nero ii. ii, The Gods rain curses on me..If e're I harbour'd..a thought But what was Noble, of your spotty loves. |
2. Patchy; lacking in uniformity or harmony:
a. Of painting.
| 1812 Examiner 25 May 329/1 The lights..are sometimes spotty. 1884 Bazaar 22 Dec. 664/1 Walters is showing a disposition for more lively colouring, but..this year's paintings..are hard and spotty. |
b. Of literary work.
| a 1849 Poe Lit. Crit., Mr. Ward Wks. 1865 III. 160 In no other supposition can we reconcile the spotty appearance of the whole with a belief in the sanity of the author. 1870 Lowell Study Wind. 261 The true artist in language is never spotty, and needs no guide-boards of admiring italics. |
c. gen. Unsteady, uneven; patchy; sporadic, intermittent.
orig. and chiefly
U.S.| 1932 Sun (Baltimore) 25 Feb. 19/6 The advance [of the curb market] was somewhat spotty, but on the whole, the list developed a firm tone. 1934 Ibid. 17 Sept. 8/1 Business conditions..are..‘spotty’. One section may flourish,..while another suffers. 1937 R. S. Morton Woman Surgeon i. 21 My grown brothers played whist with my father before dinner... His luck was spotty. 1937 E. B. White Let. 31 May (1976) 155 My attendance at meals may be a little spotty—for a twelvemonth I shall not adjust my steps to a soufflé. 1957 K. A. Wittfogel Oriental Despotism 55 The spotty distribution of his administrative centers. 1970 A. Toffler Future Shock v. 72 Available statistics, unfortunately, are spotty. 1977 H. Fast Immigrants i. 57 Clair's schooling was spotty, but she learned to read. 1979 Dictionaries I. 97 Philosophers' general interest in dictionaries has been spotty. |
3. Occurring in spots; characterized by such occurrence.
| 1821 Examiner 284/2 Their spotty and crowded arrangement. 1892 Stevenson Across the Plains 79 A rough, spotty undergrowth partially conceals the sand. |
B. n. A small wrasse of New Zealand,
Labrichthys bothryocosmus.
| 1872 in Morris Austral Eng. s.v. Poddly. 1878 Trans. New Zeal. Instit. XI. 384 Wrasse, Parrot-fish, and Spotties were often in the market. |