EXAMPLES FROM THE WEB FOR DAPPLE
No dapple of shadows was there, no rustle of leaves, no green, mossy trunks of trees.
His eyes were skilled to observe in the moving dusk and dapple of green woods.
But who be those that follow them on the grey palfrey and dapple jennet?
It was just as he was about to return to his dapple grays that he received a sudden shock.
Dimple is a diminutive of dip, and cognate with dingle and dapple.
Avoid spotted, or dapple mules; they are the very poorest animal you can get.
Dapple had to lay down on all fours before the lads could bestride him.
You will laugh at the value I put on my Dapple—for dapple is the colour of my beast.
She was as large as six elephants, and of a burnt sorrel colour with dapple grey spots; but, above all, she had a horrible tail.
But, notwithstanding his tears and lamentations, he kept urging on his Dapple to get far enough from the cart.
WORD ORIGIN
early 15c. (implied in past participle adjective dappled), perhaps from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse depill "spot," Norwegian dape "puddle." Perhaps a back-formation from, or merger with, Middle English adjective dapple-gray "apple-gray" (late 14c.), based on resemblance to the markings on an apple (cf. Old Norse apalgrar "dapple-gray"), or, as it was used of gray horses with round blotches, perhaps via resemblance to apples themselves.