Spattled

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Splashed or scattered in small drops or specks across a surface, as a dialect verb describing liquid flying about
2. Sprinkled about in scattered flecks or droplets, in the sense of a dialect word for splashing liquid
3. Dashed or spread in little splashes over something, the way a dialect verb describes liquid being flung about

Etymology: "Spattled" is the past tense of "spattle," a word whose core idea is a small, messy spray of spit. The verb came into Middle English as "spatyll" or "spatule," borrowed from Old French "spatule" or "espatule," which in turn came from Late Latin "spatula." That Latin source meant a broad, flat implement, the same root that gave English "spatula" for a kitchen tool with a flat blade. The link between a flat blade and spitting is not obvious, but it is the path the word took. A spatula-shaped thing spreads, and "spattle" came to describe the scattering of spittle from the mouth, a little wet spray rather than a full spit. Its past forms, "spattled," therefore describe things that have been splashed with that kind of spray or flecked with such droplets.