piebald

piebald
piebald (adj.) "of two different colors," 1580s, formed from PIE (Cf. pie) (n.2) "magpie" + bald "spotted, white" (see BALD (Cf. bald)), on analogy of the black-and-white plumage of the magpie. Hence, "of mixed character, mongrel." Technically only of black-and-white colorings.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Piebald — Pie bald , a. [Pie the party colored bird + bald.] 1. Having spots and patches of black and white, or other colors; mottled; pied. A piebald steed of Thracian strain. Dryden. [1913 Webster] 2. Fig.: Mixed. Piebald languages. Hudibras. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • piebald — piebald, skewbald A piebald horse or other animal is one having irregular patches of two colours, especially black and white. A skewbald animal has irregular patches of white and another colour (other than black) …   Modern English usage

  • piebald — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ (of a horse) having irregular patches of two colours, typically black and white. ► NOUN ▪ a piebald horse. ORIGIN from pie in magpie + bald in the obsolete sense «streaked with white» …   English terms dictionary

  • piebald — [pī′bôld΄] adj. [ PIE3 + BALD] covered with patches or spots of two colors, esp. with white and black n. a piebald horse or other animal …   English World dictionary

  • Piebald — A piebald is an animal, especially a horse, that has a spotting pattern of large white and black patches. The colour of the horse s skin underneath its coat is both black (under the black patches of hair) and pink (under the white patches). This… …   Wikipedia

  • piebald — UK [ˈpaɪˌbɔːld] / US [ˈpaɪˌbɔld] adjective a piebald animal is two different colours, usually black and white Derived word: piebald UK / US noun countable Word forms piebald : singular piebald plural piebalds …   English dictionary

  • piebald — pie|bald [ˈpaıbo:ld US bo:ld] adj [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: pie magpie ( MAGPIE) + bald] a piebald animal has black and white areas on its body ▪ a piebald horse …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • piebald — [[t]pa͟ɪbɔːld[/t]] ADJ A piebald animal has patches of black and white on it. ...a piebald pony …   English dictionary

  • piebald — adjective a piebald animal has large areas of skin of two different colours, usually black and white piebald noun (C) …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • piebald — I. adjective Date: 1589 1. composed of incongruous parts 2. of different colors; especially spotted or blotched with black and white II. noun Date: 1765 a piebald animal (as a horse) …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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