/flɛk/
OriginFrom Middle English *flekk, *flekke (attested in Middle English flekked (“spotted, flecked”)), from Old Norse flekkr (“spot”), from Proto-Germanic *flekka-. Cognate with Dutch vlek, German Fleck, Swedish fläck.
- A flake.
“two flecks of Lard cut with your knife”
- A lock, as of wool.
“With teeth they smooth their work, as on it slips,
And flecks of wool stick to their wither'd lips”
“A single fleck of wool from his sock got caught on a splintery floorboard and that was enough to convict him.”
- A small spot or streak; a speckle.
“So fret not, like an idle girl, / That life is dash'd with flecks of sin. / Abide: thy wealth is gathered in, / When Time hath sunder'd shell from pearl.”
- A small amount.
“a fleck of hope”
“a fleck of imagination”
- transitiveTo mark (something) with small spots.
“So this was my future home, I thought![…]Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy”
“It was a perfect June day, with only a few light clouds flecking a pure blue sky.”
“The Names of the Moons of Mars is a frequently somber book, flecked through with optimism and humor.”
Formsflecks(plural) · flecks(present, singular, third-person) · flecking(participle, present) · flecked(participle, past) · flecked(past)