Brewer's: Dapple

The name of Sancho Panza's donkey in Cervantes' romance of Don Quixote. Bailey derives dapple from the Teutonic dapper (streaked or spotted like a pippin). A dapple-grey horse is one of a light grey shaded with a deeper hue; a dapple-bay is a light bay spotted with bay of a deeper colour. (Icelandic, depill, a spot.)

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language