Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Speck?

\Speck\, n. [Cf. Icel. spik blubber, AS. spic, D. spek, G. speck.] The blubber of whales or other marine mammals; also, the fat of the hippopotamus. {Speck falls} (Naut.), falls or ropes rove through blocks for hoisting the blubber and bone of whales on board a whaling vessel.
\Speck\, n. [OE. spekke, AS. specca; cf. LG. spaak.] 1. A small discolored place in or on anything, or a small place of a color different from that of the main substance; a spot; a stain; a blemish; as, a speck on paper or loth; specks of decay in fruit. ``Gray sand, with black specks.'' --Anson. 2. A very small thing; a particle; a mite; as, specks of dust; he has not a speck of money. Many bright specks bubble up along the blue Egean. --Landor. 3. (Zo["o]l.) A small etheostomoid fish ({Ulocentra stigm[ae]a}) common in the Eastern United States.
\Speck\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Specked}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Specking}.] To cause the presence of specks upon or in, especially specks regarded as defects or blemishes; to spot; to speckle; as, paper specked by impurities in the water used in its manufacture. Carnation, purple, azure, or specked with gold. --Milton.