spotted, a. and ppl. a.
(ˈspɒtɪd)
Also 5 spottid, -yd, 6, 9 Sc. -it, 7 spotede.
[f. spot n.1 and v. Cf. NFris. spōted.]
1. a. Marked or decorated with spots.
| c 1250 Gen & Ex. 1721 And if of ðo spotted cumen, ðo sulen him ben for hire numen. 1388 Wyclif Gen. xxx. 35 He departide..the geet and scheep geet buckis, and rammes, dyuerse and spottid. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxi. 143 Þer er also wilde swyne,..dappeld and spotted, as it ware founez of daes. 1513 Douglas æneid i. vi. 32 [She was] cled into the spottit linx hyde. 1582 in Brown Abstr. Somerset Wills (1887) 93 Let my son Thomas have the spotted colt. c 1611 Chapman Iliad xvii. 15 (1887) 223 Not any lion,..Nor spotted leopard, nor boar. 1648 Hexham ii, Gespickelt laken, Speckled or Spotted cloath. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 415, I pass the Wars that spotted Linx's make With their fierce Rivals. 1750 tr. Leonardus' Mirr. Stones 87 This sort is spotted and purple. 1799 [A. Young] Agric. Linc. 148 Best eating potatoes are spotted lemons. 1854 Poultry Chron. II. 176 Their spotted plumage resembling the spotted markings on the neck and breast of a common cock pheasant. 1874 H. H. Cole Catal. Ind. Art S. Kens. Mus. 251 A very quaint flower pattern on a spotted white ground. |
b. Const.
with (some colour, etc.).
| 1555 Eden Decades i. vii. (Arb.) 91 They were all paynted and spotted with sundry coloures. 1604 Shakes. Oth. iii. iii. 435 A Handkerchiefe Spotted with Strawberries. 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 187 Girafes..are docile beasts, white and spotted with red. 1703 W. Dampier Voy. III. ii. 32 Very remarkable Hills.., their sides all spotted with Woods and Savannahs. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VII. 224 This animal..is finely spotted with various colours. 1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. I. 189 Plumage of a clear brown, spotted with deeper colour. 1855 Whitman Leaves of Grass, Sea-Drift (1884) 197 Four light-green eggs spotted with brown. |
c. With adverbial or other addition.
| 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. xiii. 126 b, A Leopardes skynne well spotted. 1685 Burnet Lett. (1686) 240 Marble beautifully spotted. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 237 No Lynx could be more exactly spotted, nor any Skin of a Tygre so pretty. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VII. 223 The skin..being rough, hard, and variously spotted. 1816 Tuckey Narr. Exped. R. Zaire iii. (1818) 121 The domestic animals are sheep spotted black and white. |
d. Mining. Having the ore irregularly distributed through the workings.
| 1874 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 365 The ground is spotted and very rich in places. 1895 Times 19 Feb. 3/6 This reef..appears to be what..is called ‘spotted’, the ore varying greatly in value in the distance of a few feet. |
2. a. Disfigured or stained with spots.
| 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 740/1 Syth that al the iustice of man is as the scripture sayeth like a fowle spotted clowte. 1619 West Bk. Demeanor 167 in Babees Bk., Keep it neat and cleane, For spotted, dirty, or the like, is lothsome to be seene. 1649 E. Reynolds Hosea iii. 23 The Moon returnes but a faint and spotted light upon the world. 1765 Museum Rust. IV. 417 For every pound weight of Cocoons..of a weaker, lighter, spotted, or bruised quality. 1903 Smart Set IX. 19/1 One spotted peach will contaminate a whole basket. |
b. fig. Morally stained or blemished.
| 1522 More De quat. Noviss. Wks. 83/1 The perilous pride of them that for theyr few spotted vertues..take themself for quick saintes. 1560 Becon New Catech. v. Wks. 1564 I. 445 b, All creatures were founde spotted in the syght of God. 1637 R. Ashley tr. Malvezzi's David Persecuted 52 Always egged on by the bitter touches of their spotted beginning. 1691 Hartcliffe Virtues 67 Tho they are the most filthy and spotted Crimes. 1742 Young Nt. Th. v. 50 The flow'rs of eloquence, profusely pour'd O'er spotted vice, fill half the letter'd world. 1817 Coleridge Zapolya Prel. 114 Do you press on, ye spotted parricides! 1891 H. Lynch Meredith 68 Richard's undertaking in the reform of spotted woman. |
| absol. 1891 Meredith One of our Conq. xxxv, The white he was ready to take for silver,..the spotted had received corruption's label. |
c. Const.
with (something disgraceful).
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Rich. III, 29 b, That note of infamie with the whiche his fame was iustely spotted and stayned. 1578 Banister Hist. Man viii. 102 With no small negligence is he spotted in this point. a 1629 Hinde J. Bruen xxx. (1641) 95 Seldome any such meetings, but are either sprinkled with blood, or spotted with some grosse filthinesse. 1754 H. Walpole Lett. (1846) III. 76, I have scarce an idea left that is not spotted with clubs, hearts, spades, and diamonds. 1808 Bentham Sc. Reform 2 The abuses, with which the regular system of procedure is spotted. |
d. Marked, suspected.
| 1864 Daily Tel. 17 May, Because the defaulter becomes a ‘spotted’ man, whose word can never more be trusted. |
3. a. spotted fever, a fever characterized by the appearance of spots on the skin; now
spec. epidemic cerebro-spinal meningitis, and typhus or petechial fever. Also,
= Rocky Mountain (
spotted)
fever s.v. rocky a.
1 1 c.
| 1650 in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 474 S{supr} Charles his sickness was a spotted feaver. 1671 Salmon Syn. Med. i. lv. 147 The Spotted Feaver, is a continual malignant burning Feaver [etc.]. 1747 tr. Astruc's Fevers 344 The first [class] comprehends those of a true spotted-fever, the second those of a spurious one. 1775 Ann. Reg. ii. 4/1 Her Majesty's illness, which was a most malignant spotted fever, baffled every endeavour. 1822–7 Good Study Med. (1829) II. 239 While, from the purple or flea-bite spots,..this variety has been very generally treated of at home, under the name of Spotted Fever. 1842 [see petechial a.]. 1896 Allbutt's Syst. Med. I. 667 Petechiæ were so common and so abundant in the earlier American Epidemics that the name ‘spotted fever’ was applied to the disease. 1902 Wilson & Chowning in First Biennial Rep. Montana State Board of Health 27 Enough was accomplished to warrant the formation of a working hypothesis..that the so-called ‘Spotted Fever’ is due to the presence in the patient's blood of the above mentioned haematozoan..; and that the parasite is conveyed to man through the bite of a tick. 1903 U.S. Hygienic Lab. Bull. XIV. 7 (heading) Spotted fever (tick fever) of the Rocky Mountains. Ibid., I have suggested as a name for the disease ‘Tick Fever’, as there are already two diseases sometimes called ‘spotted fever’. |
b. Similarly
spotted death,
spotted pestilence,
spotted sickness.
| 1666 Dryden Ann. Mirab. cclxvii, When spotted Deaths ran arm'd thro' every Street. 1783 Waldron Contn. B. Jonson's Sad Sheph. iii. 64 The spotted pestilence his bow'r surround! 1825 Scott Talism. iii, How few can they deliver From lingering pains,..Red Fever, spotted Pestilence! 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 853 The ‘spotted sickness’ of tropical America. |
4. In specific names:
a. Of animals, as
spotted axis,
spotted boa,
spotted cavy,
spotted cougar,
spotted deer, etc.
Also in a number of moth-names given by Rennie
Consp. Butterfl. & Moths (1832).
| 1781 Pennant Hist. Quadrup. I. 105 The *Spotted Axis..will bear our climate. c 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. III. 49 The Spotted Axis; the Hog Deer, and the Roebuck. |
| 1802 Shaw Gen. Zool. III. ii. 343 The *spotted Boa is sometimes scarcely inferior in size to the Constrictor. |
| 1781 Pennant Hist. Quadrup. II. 363 The *Spotted Cavy..inhabits Brazil, and Guiana. |
| 1860 Mayne Reid Hunter's Feast vii, Some naturalists speak of *spotted cougars—that is, having spots that may be seen in a certain light. |
| 1679 in Yule & Burnell Hobson-Jobson (1886) 651/2 There being conveniency in this place for ye breeding up of *Spotted Deer. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 71 Being here presented with Chitrels, or Spotted Deer. 1894 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. II. 353 The Indian Spotted Deer, or Chital (Cervus axis). |
| 1754 Catesby Carolina II. App. 110/1 The *Spotted Eft. |
| 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) IV. 149/1 The..harnessed antelope..is frequent at the Cape, where it is called the bonte-bok, or *spotted goat. 1818–22 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) XIV. 671/1 Spotted Goat of the Cape. |
| c 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. III. 59 The *Spotted Hog Deer is a rare species. |
| 1781 Pennant Hist. Quadrup. I. 252 The *Spotted Hyæna..inhabits Guinea, æthiopia, and the Cape. 1893 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. I. 488 The Spotted Hyæna (Hyæna crocuta)..is by far the largest and most powerful of the three living species. 1751 *Spotted Lizard [see lizard 1 b]. 1831 Griffith tr. Cuvier IX. Syn. 34 Spotted Lizard, Lacerta Guttulata. |
| 1789 A. Phillip Voy. Bot. Bay 276 *Spotted Martin. The species is about the size of a large polecat. |
| 1781 Pennant Hist. Quadrup. I. 186 *Spotted Monkey. |
| 1789 A. Phillip Voy. Bot. Bay 147 The *Spotted Opossum. |
| 1879 E. P. Wright Anim. Life 402 The pretty *Spotted Salamander..inhabits the greater part of Central and Southern Europe. c 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. IV. 371 The Spotted Salamander,..Salamandra maculosa,..is the type of this genus. |
| 1865 Gosse Land & Sea (1874) 67 The common *spotted seal (Phoca vitulina). |
| 1648 Hexham ii, Een Plack-slange, a *spotted Snake or Adder. 1802 Shaw Gen. Zool. III. ii. 446 Spotted Snake. c 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. IV. 301 Taking the Common English Spotted Snake as an example. |
| 1802 Shaw Gen. Zool. III. i. 47 The Testudo guttata, or *Spotted Tortoise. 1884 Goode Nat. Hist. Aquat. Anim. 158 The ‘Spotted Tortoise’ or ‘Speckled Turtle’, Chelopus guttatus. |
| c 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. II. 59 The *Spotted Wild Cat..is of a grey colour, spotted with black. |
b. Of birds, as
spotted bower-bird,
spotted crake,
spotted cuckoo,
spotted eagle,
spotted emu,
spotted falcon, etc.
Many others occur in Latham's
Gen. Synop. Birds (1781–85), as
spotted boat-bill,
booby,
bunting,
buzzard, etc.
| 1865 Intell. Observ. No. 38. 103 The *spotted Bower-bird. 1879 E. P. Wright Anim. Life 254 Equally interesting are the habits of the Spotted Bower Bird (Chlamydera maculata). |
| 1824 Stephens in Shaw Gen. Zool. XII. i. 223 *Spotted Crake. 1879 E. P. Wright Anim. Life 321 The Spotted Crake (Porzana maruetta) is another native species. |
| 1782 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds I. ii. 539 *Spotted Cuckow;.. inhabits Cayenne. 1895 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. IV. 2 The great spotted cuckoo (C. glandarius) has twice occurred in England. |
| 1781 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds I. i. 38 *Spotted Eagle... The length of this bird is two feet. 1845 Yarrell Brit. Birds 1st Suppl. 11 The Spotted Eagle, Aquila nævia. 1895 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. IV. 230 The spotted eagle (Aquila maculata) of Central Europe. |
| c 1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. IV. 235 The *Spotted Emu (Dromæus irroratus) has often bred in captivity in this country. |
| 1770 Pennant Brit. Zool. IV. 8 *Spotted Falcon... Size of a buzzard. |
| 1783 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds II. i. 323 *Spotted Flycatcher;..frequents the warmer parts of the European continent. 1879 E. P. Wright Anim. Life 243 The Spotted Fly-catcher (Muscicapa griseola) can hardly be said to be a song-bird. |
| 1772 Phil. Trans. LXII. 389 Tetrao Grous, *Spotted Grous. 1831 Wilson, etc. Amer. Ornith. IV. 193 The red grouse,..and Tetrao canadensis, or spotted grouse, have but sixteen [feathers in the tail]. |
| 1768 Pennant Brit. Zool. II. 357 The *Spotted Redshank..in size..is equal to the preceding [i.e. Green Shank]. |
| 1829 Griffith tr. Cuvier VIII. 78 *Spotted Ring Pigeon,..Columba Arquatrix. |
| 1768 Pennant Brit. Zool. II. 369 The *Spotted Sandpiper..is common to Europe and America. 1872 Coues N. Amer. Birds 260 Tringoides, Spotted Sandpiper. |
| 1802 Montagu Ornith. s.v. Snipe, *Spotted Snipe, Scolopax Totanus. |
| 1772 Phil. Trans. LXII. 410 Scolopax,..*Spotted Woodcock. |
| 1782 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds I. ii. 569 Canadian *Spotted Wood⁓pecker;..wing coverts and quills spotted with white. 1802 Montagu Ornith. s.v., The Spotted Woodpecker is less frequent in England than the Green. 1890 Science-Gossip XXVI. 47/1 The great spotted woodpecker (Picus major). |
c. Of fishes, as
spotted bass,
spotted blenny,
spotted cat,
spotted dog-fish,
spotted goby,
spotted grunt, etc.
| 1876 Goode Anim. Resources U.S. in Smithsonian Coll. XIII. vi. 62 Red fish or *spotted bass (Sciænops ocellatus). |
| 1805 Barry Orkney 292 The *Spotted Blenny..is found under stones among the sea-weed. 1881 Day Fishes Gt. Brit. I. 208 Centronotus Gunnellus... Spotted blenny. |
| 1796 *Spotted cat [see cat n.1 4 b]. 1861 *Spotted Dogfish [see dogfish 1]. 1883 Day Fishes Gt. Brit. II. 309 Scyllium canicula,..Spotted dog-fish. Ibid. 310 Spotted, small-spotted, and lesser-spotted dog-fish. |
| 1770 *Spotted Goby [see goby]. 1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 98 The Spotted Goby..differs from the other species in wanting the silk-like pectoral fins. |
| 1876 Goode Fishes Bermudas 54 The fishermen recognize several others, as the Yellow, Streaked, *Spotted, and Black Grunts. |
| 1884 Goode Nat. Hist. Aquat. Anim. 412 The *Spotted Hind, Epinephelus Drummond-Hayi,..has been but recently discovered. |
| 1836 Yarrell Brit. Fishes II. 448 Petromyzon marinus, *Spotted Lamprey. |
| 1881 Day Fishes Gt. Brit. I. 306 *Spotted-ling, white-ling, and stake. |
| 1804 Shaw Gen. Zool. V. ii. 316 *Spotted Ray. 1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 42 This species..is sometimes known as the Spotted Ray and as the Painted Ray. |
| 1884 Goode Nat. Hist. Aquat. Anim. 266 *Spotted Black Rock-Fish (Sebastichthys melanops). |
| Ibid. 267 *Spotted Rock Trout (Hexagrammus decagrammus). |
| 1883 Harper's Mag. Dec. 101/1 The *spotted sunfish..is more democratic, affecting muddy streams. |
| 1884 Goode Nat. Hist. Aquat. Anim. 365 The Spotted Squeteague..is usually known on the Southern coast as the ‘Salmon’ or ‘*Spotted Trout’. |
| Ibid. 177 Lophopsetta maculata, is sometimes called the *Spotted Turbot. |
| 1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 75 The Cook Wrasse (Labrus mixtus)..is also known..as the Red Wrasse, Striped Wrasse, and *Spotted Wrasse. |
d. Of plants, as
spotted archangel,
spotted arse-smart,
spotted cat's-ear(s),
spotted cowbane, etc.
| 1822 Hortus Anglicus II. 89 L[amium] Maculatum. *Spotted Archangel. |
| 1731 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Persicaria, Dead, or *Spotted Arsmart. 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Persicaria, The common mild or spotted arsmart. |
| 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 691 Hypochæris maculata... *Spotted Cats-ears. 1848 [see cat n.1 19 b]. 1855 Pratt Flower. Pl. III. 193 Spotted Cat's-ear..is a rare plant. |
| 1846–50 A. Wood Class-bk. Bot. 286 Cicuta maculata. Water Hemlock. *Spotted Cowbane. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal i. xcviii. 157 *Spotted Dogs Stones bringeth foorth narrow leaues. |
| 1847 *Spotted Gum [see gum n.2 5]. 1889 J. H. Maiden Usef. Pl. 242 Eucalyptus hæmastoma... Spotted Gum. |
| 1731 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Pulmonaria, Common *spotted Lungwort, by some call'd Sage of Jerusalem. 1829 T. Castle Introd. Bot. 68 As in the spotted and officinal lung-wort. |
| 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 28 Orchis maculata... Female-handed Orchis. *Spotted Orchis. 1898 Morris Austral Eng. 431 Spotted-Orchis, Tasmanian name for the Orchid Dipodium punctatum. |
| 1855 Pratt Flower. Pl. V. 210 *Spotted Palmate Orchis. 1882 Garden 11 Feb. 89/1 The Spotted Palmate Orchis is found, I believe, in every part of the Kingdom. |
| 1855 Pratt Flower. Pl. IV. 303 *Spotted Persicaria. |
| 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 381 Persicaria... *Spotted Snakeweed. |
| 1874 Treas. Bot. Suppl. 1344/1 *Spotted Tree of the Queensland colonists. Flindersia maculosa, the trunk of which is remarkably spotted by the falling off of the outer bark in patches. 1889 J. H. Maiden Usef. Pl. 216 Flindersia maculosa... Spotted or Leopard Tree. |
| 1846–50 A. Wood Class-bk. Bot. 379 Chimaphila maculata,..*Spotted Wintergreen. |
5. Comb., as
spotted-beaked,
spotted-bellied,
spotted-billed, etc. (in specific names).
| 1829 Griffith tr. Cuvier VIII. 620 *Spotted-beaked Duck, Anas Maculirostris. |
| 1782 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds I. ii. 494 *Spotted-bellied Barbet;..the plumage beneath rufous white, spotted with black. 1829 Griffith tr. Cuvier VII. 472 Spotted-bellied Tamatia, Bucco Tamatia. |
| 1785 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds III. ii. 487 *Spotted-billed Duck, Anas poecilorhyncha. 1824 Stephens in Shaw's Gen. Zool. XII. ii. 134 Spotted-billed Wigeon. |
| 1811 Shaw Gen. Zool. VIII. i. 223 *Spotted-breasted Creeper. |
| 1829 Griffith tr. Cuvier VI. 72 *Spotted-eared Owl, Strix maculosa. |
| 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Orchis, The white-flowered *spotted-leaved palmated meadow orchis. |
| 1782 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds I. ii. 772 *Spotted Necked Humming Bird. 1783 Ibid. II. ii. 645 Spotted-necked Turtle. 1829 Griffith tr. Cuvier VIII. 65 Spotted-necked Quail. 1894 Lydekker Roy. Nat. Hist. II. 97 The spotted-necked otter (Lutra maculicollis). |
| 1781 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds I. i. 106 *Spotted-tailed Hawk;..on each tail-feather..are three white spots. 1809 Shaw Gen. Zool. VII. i. 196 Spotted-Tailed Hobby. |
| 1781 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds I. i. 68 *Spotted-winged Falcon. 1783 Ibid. II. i. 345 Spotted Winged Flycatcher. |
6. Special collocations:
Spotted Dick, a suet pudding made with currants or raisins;
spotted dog, (
a) a white or light-coloured dog with black or dark spots,
esp. a Dalmatian; (
b)
fig. = Spotted Dick; also
attrib.;
spotted metal,
stems (see
quots.);
spotted wilt, a virus disease of herbaceous plants,
esp. tomatoes, in which it causes curling and necrotic spotting of the leaves.
| 1849 A. Soyer Modern Housewife 350 Plum Bolster, or *Spotted Dick.—Roll out two pounds of paste.., have some Smyrna raisins well washed [etc.]. 1892 Pall Mall G. 15 Dec. 2/3 The Kilburn Sisters..daily satisfy hundreds of dockers with soup and Spotted Dick. |
| 1854 C. M. Smith Working-Men's Way in World xii. 288 For supper come smoking sheep's-heads..and ‘*spotted dog’, a very marly species of plum-pudding. 1910 F. W. Hackwood Inns, Ales, & Drinking Customs 288 The ‘Talbot’ readily became known among the vulgar as the ‘Spotted Dog’. 1930 E. C. Ash Pract. Dog Bk. 47 The Spotted Dog [sc. the Dalmatian] became the dog of the Circus. a 1936 Kipling Something of Myself (1937) i. 18 An enormous currant roly-poly—a ‘spotted dog’ a foot long. 1974 Country Life 25 Apr. 990/1 The other hound..reminded me of a spotted dog pudding at school. |
| 1876 J. Hiles Catech. Organ iv. (1878) 22 A mixture is often used [for organ pipes] called ‘*Spotted Metal’, from the surface being covered with spots, or mottled. 1881 C. A. Edwards Organs 125 ‘Spotted metal’ is the name given to a compound of tin and lead, in the proportion of one-third of the former to two-thirds of the latter. |
| 1851 Mantell Petrifactions i. 35 Specimens of certain fossil vegetables which are abundant in most coal fields, and are commonly known as *Spotted-stems, or Stigmariæ. |
| 1919 C. C. Brittlebank in Jrnl. Dept. Agric. Victoria XVII. 231 It is well to have a common name for every tomato disease, and I propose that of ‘*Spotted Wilt’ for this latest one, from the spotting and subsequent wilting of the attacked plants. 1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. June 587/1 Iceland poppies should be inspected regularly from now on for symptoms of the virus disease known as spotted wilt. 1979 Ann. Appl. Biol. XCIII. 173 Chlorotic ring⁓spots.., leaf specking, terminal bud necrosis,..and severe stunting of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) were shown to be caused by tomato spotted wilt virus. |