Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MOTTLE

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pronounce MOTTLE: Say it "MOD ull." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: Mottled things--like fur, skin, metal, clothing, and artwork--are spotted, patchy, or blotchy with different colors. Mottled is a close synonym of our word var____ted, which describes things with spots or patches of different colors---or things that seem lively because they're so varied or diverse. Can you recall that one? (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) definition: The word "mottle" popped up in English as a shorter form of the word "motley," which means "made of different colors" and came into English through French. We're not sure where "motley" ultimately came from, but it might be from the Old English word mot, meaning "a speck." To mottle something is to add spots or blotches of different colors to it. So, something mottled is spotted or blotched with different colors. Here's Mia, who has mottled fur: And here's a horse with mottled skin near the mouth: (Thanks to Wikipedia for that image.) And if you want to get figurative, to mottle something is to make it less even, less smooth, less plain, or less simple, as if you're making it spotty or splotched. In other words, to mottle something is to add lots of little parts or things to it that make it more varied or more complex. grammatical bits: Part of speech: It's a verb, the transitive kind: "eczema mottled her arms;" "sunlight streamed through the leaves and mottled his face."  "Mottle" can be a noun, also. A mottle is a pattern or arrangement of spots or blotches. And, mottles are the spots or blotches themselves. Other forms: mottled, mottling, mottlers. how to use it: Although something mottled can be beautiful, natural, and healthy, like the kitty's fur above, it could also be diseased or ugly. Mottled leaves on a tree, for example, or mottled skin on a person might suggest disease. Now, if your baby's legs are mottled, they're still adorable, and the mottling might be normal. All I'm saying is, the tone of the word "mottled" can be positive or negative. We might use the verb "mottle" to talk poetically about things mottling other things: "Time and the weather have mottled the castle's walls;" "Time, experience, and hindsight have mottled those early memories." Most often, though, we turn "mottle" into an adjective, "mottled," and talk about things that are already mottled, permanently mottled: "a mottled tin cup," "the tree's mottled leaves," "these mottled old yellow blankets." We can say something is mottled with things: "skin mottled with sores," "windows mottled with dirt," "their decades-long friendship, mottled with spats." examples: "He shoots at night to capture mottled skies and dramatic juxtapositions of light and shadow."    — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 27 November 2019 "In [one portrait], her face fills the frame and her mottled skin is a landscape of lived experience."    — Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian, 17 November 2019 has this page helped you understand "mottle"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "mottle" without saying "dapple" or "pepper." try it out: Jim Hamann told the Washington Post: "Tin will change color. It will become mottled, battleship gray, even black. But that’s what tin does." Some people think this kind of mottling is beautiful. Do you? Why or why not? What other items tend to get mottled, and do you find them ugly or beautiful? If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. This month, our game is called "Fix the Grand Spell which was Cast by Short Words."  (Or, in monstrously inflated terms, the game is called "Rewrite the Extraordinary Incantation which was Executed by Monosyllabic Vocables.") In each issue, I'll offer a familiar quote that I've heartlessly hypertrophied with polysyllabic transplants. You'll restore the quote to its original version, with each word just one syllable long. That is to say, I'll share a fat, fake draft of a famed quote; you'll say the trim real one. For example, if I say "Exploit an opportunity while the situation allows," then you say, "Make hay while the sun shines." If I say, "Durations remedy every laceration," then you say, "Time heals all wounds." From the previous issue: "When you engage with the tournament of sovereignties, you succeed or you perish." --> "When you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die." Try this today: "From the present going forward, we won't merely confront our most terrible horrors; we will pursue them." Say that, but in words of one beat each. Clues:  Where it's from: a TV show. The year we first heard it: 2002. review this word: 1. A near opposite of MOTTLE is A. FADE. B. STIPPLE C. EVEN OUT. 2. Her speech is mottled by _____, making her _____. A. foreign phrases .. hard to understand B. the zeal of a new project .. gleam with energy C. the microphone .. sound like a robot that's two counties away Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. A a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.