piebald
UK /ˈpaɪ.bɔːld/ · US /ˈpaɪ.bɔld/ adjective, noun
Forms piebalds
- adjective Spotted or blotched, especially in black and white.
- adjective (figuratively) Of mixed character, heterogeneous.
- noun An animal with piebald coloration.
Synonyms
motley calico multicolor multi-color multicolour multi-colour multicolored multi-colored multicoloured multi-coloured painted particolored particoloured pied varicolored varicoloured
Etymology
From pie (“magpie”) + bald (“having white patches or blazes”).
Compare typologically Polish srokaty < sroka.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Having spots and patches of black and white, or other colors; mottled; pied. "A piebald steed of Thracian strain." Dryden.
- adjective Fig.: Mixed. "Piebald languages." Hudibras.
Etymology [Pie the party-colored bird + bald.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “piebald”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details