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Added 8 October 2026

speck

/spɛk/ noun

In Latin: macula Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about speck at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A very small spot.
the plane was just a speck in the sky
(nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything.
A slight but appreciable amount.
this dish could use a touch of garlic

verb

Produce specks in or on.
speck the cloth

Origin

From Middle English spekke, from Old English specca (“small spot, stain”), from the same ultimate source as Proto-Germanic *sprakô (“spark”). Cognate with Low German spaken (“to spot with wet”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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