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spot

/spɒt/ noun

In Latin: macula Wiktionary

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

  1. A point located with respect to surface features of some region.
    this is a nice place for a picnic
  2. A short section or illustration (as between radio or tv programs or in a magazine) that is often used for advertising.
  3. An outstanding characteristic.
    his acting was one of the high points of the movie

verb

  1. Catch sight of.
  2. Detect with the senses.
    The fleeing convicts were picked out of the darkness by the watchful prison guards
  3. Mar or impair with a flaw.
    her face was blemished

Origin

From Middle English spot, spotte, partially from Middle Dutch spotte (“spot, speck”), and partially merging with Middle English splot, from Old English splott (“spot, plot of land”), from Proto-West Germanic *splott, from Proto-Germanic *spluttaz (“segment”), from Proto-Indo-European *splt-no- (“an off-split, segment”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to split”). Cognate with North Frisian spot (“speck, piece of ground”), Low German spot (“speck”), Old Norse spotti (“small piece”). See also splot, splotch.

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