Dictionary

piebald en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpaɪ.bɔld/ (US)
• /ˈpaɪ.bɔːld/ (UK)
• /ˈpaɪ.bɑld/ (US)

Etymology

From pie (“magpie”) + bald (“having white patches or blazes”). Compare typologically Polish srokaty < sroka.

Meanings

1. Spotted or blotched, especially in black and white.
   • Usually, however, the hitcher was standing exactly where she'd first passed him, his arm perhaps just marginally less erect, his clothing (if rain was setting in) just that little bit more piebald. 2001, Michel Faber, Under the Skin, page 4:
   • This figure was clad in tweeds of a piebald check, with a pink tie, a sharp collar and protuberant yellow boots. 1912 November – 1914 September, G[ilbert] K[eith] Chesterton, “(please specify the page)”, in The Wisdom of Father Brown, London; New York, N.Y.: Cassell and Company, →OCLC:
   • "Well, isn't that just like a girl. All this round you, and you only see a bit of dust. It'll brush off." He patted ineffectually at his piebald shirt. 1965, Susan Cooper, Over Sea, Under Stone, page 20:
   • The classic example of a piebald dog is the Dalmatian. 2011, Stanley Coren, Sarah Hodgson, Understanding Your Dog For Dummies:
   • Of course my sister didn’t know that, but she knew it very distinctly when she turned a sharp corner and found herself in a mixed company of camels, piebald horses, and canary-coloured vans. 1914, Saki [pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro], “A defensive diamond”, in Beasts and Super-Beasts […], London: John Lane, The Bodley Head […], →OCLC:
   • We saw many small animals, such as porcupines, a scaly ant-eater, and a wild pig, piebald in color and with long curved tusks. 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
   • […] she kept several piebald mice and a restless revolving squirrel. 1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC:
2. (figuratively) Of mixed character, heterogeneous.
   • And at the present day, the wanton introduction of scientific terms from the Greek and Latin, and of phrases from the French, threatens to render our tongue still more piebald, heterogeneous and unwieldy. 1839, Charles Hodge, Henry Boynton Smith, “The Origin and Variations of the English Language”, in The Biblical Repertory and Princeton Review, volume XI, page 544:
   • Out there on the stage is the largest — and most piebald — rock band in captivity. 1970, “Time”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 95, page 67:
   • Hence you will make the piebald Church more piebald than ever. 1864, T. E. Espin, Supply and Training of Ministers, in Church of England, Report of the Proceedings of the Church Congress [1863], page 67

Forms

Coordinates

variegated

Deriveds

piebaldness · piebald dolphin · piebaldism

Relateds

pied · skewbald

Translations (45)

sh pjegav (spotted or blotched) · tl hubero (spotted or blotched) · de weißgescheckt (spotted or blotched) · sv skäckig (spotted or blotched) · sh pjegast (spotted or blotched) · ru пятни́стый (spotted or blotched) · gd breac (spotted or blotched) · mi pōrangorango (spotted or blotched) · pl heterogeniczny (of mixed character, heterogeneous) · bg шарен (spotted or blotched) · scn baḍḍijatu (spotted or blotched) · ru пе́гий (spotted or blotched) · de scheckig (spotted or blotched) · fi laikukas (spotted or blotched) · fa ابلک (spotted or blotched) · sa पृषत् (spotted or blotched) · sv fläckig (spotted or blotched) · bg на петна (spotted or blotched) · mi kōpurepure (spotted or blotched) · ru разношёрстный (of mixed character, heterogeneous) · fa پیسه (spotted or blotched) · brh ابلخ (spotted or blotched) · fa ابلق (spotted or blotched) · de schwarzgescheckt (spotted or blotched) · brh کمبر (spotted or blotched) · ru пёстрый (of mixed character, heterogeneous) · fr pie (spotted or blotched) · de gescheckt (spotted or blotched) · hno ابلق (spotted or blotched) · cy du a gwyn (spotted or blotched) · pl srokaty (spotted or blotched) · bal کمبر (spotted or blotched) · bg разнообразен (of mixed character, heterogeneous) · kmr belek (spotted or blotched) · es moteado (spotted or blotched) · sah ала (spotted or blotched) · pl łaciaty (spotted or blotched) · pl niejednolity (of mixed character, heterogeneous) · bg пъстър (of mixed character, heterogeneous) · ga ballach (spotted or blotched) · ckb بەڵەک (spotted or blotched) · mk абраш (spotted or blotched) · sh mrljast (spotted or blotched) · vo vielik (spotted or blotched) · ga alabhreac (spotted or blotched)

piebald en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈpaɪ.bɔld/ (US)
• /ˈpaɪ.bɔːld/ (UK)
• /ˈpaɪ.bɑld/ (US)

Etymology

From pie (“magpie”) + bald (“having white patches or blazes”). Compare typologically Polish srokaty < sroka.

Meanings

1. An animal with piebald coloration.
   • Our neighbour's fancy was for piebald horses, and so strong was it that he wished not to have any one-coloured animals in his herd, despite the fact that he bred horses for sale and that piebalds were not so popular as horses of a more normal colouring. 1918, William Henry Hudson, Far Away and Long Ago, page 91:
   • “She always performs really well,” she says, showing me TikToks of her lip-syncing next to Luna, an elderly, noble-looking piebald with mournful brown eyes. 2026 May 28, Amelia Gentleman, “The strange surveilled life of Piper Rockelle: why did a former child influencer decide to go on OnlyFans?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Forms

Relateds

ablaq

Translations (6)

mk абраш (animal with piebald coloration) · fi tobiano (animal with piebald coloration) · pa ڈبا (animal with piebald coloration) · pa ਡਬਾ (animal with piebald coloration) · mi paiporo (animal with piebald coloration) · pl łaciate zwierzę (animal with piebald coloration)