Definition

Noun: - A horse (or sometimes another animal) whose coat is grey in color and marked with a pattern of darker grey spots or patches.

Usage

• The term is used specifically to describe the coloration of an animal's coat, most commonly a horse.
• It functions as a countable noun (e.g., , ).

Examples

• Noun:
  • The princess rode a beautiful dappled-grey.
  • We saw several dappled-greys in the stable.

Advanced Usage

• The term is often hyphenated when used as a compound noun modifier before another noun (e.g., ). When used as a standalone noun, the hyphen is also standard.
• It describes a specific, mature stage in the greying process of a horse's coat, where dapples (roundish darker markings) are visible on a lighter grey background.

Variants and Related Words

• Dapple-grey: A common alternate spelling, often used interchangeably. (e.g., )
• Dappled (adj): Marked with spots or rounded patches of color. (e.g., ).
• Grey (adj/n): Of the color between black and white.

Synonyms

• Dapple-gray (US English spelling variant).
• Fleabitten grey: A different grey horse coat pattern characterized by very small dark specks, not larger dapples.

Notes

• "Dappled-grey" is a noun referring to the animal itself, not an adjective describing the color pattern. To describe the pattern, one would use the adjective "dappled grey" (often without a hyphen in this predicative use: ).
• This color is distinct from a "grey" horse without dapples and from a "roan" coat, which mixes white and colored hairs uniformly.

Noun

1. grey with a mottled pattern of darker grey markings