brindle

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See also: Brindle

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

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Back-formation from brindled, a variant of brinded (streaked, spotted), apparently reanalyzed as brindle + -ed. Attested from the late seventeenth century.

Pronunciation

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  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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brindle (usually uncountable, plural brindles)

  1. A streaky colouration in animals.
  2. An animal so coloured.
    • 2011, Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones, Bloomsbury (2017), page 235:
      I snatch at the puppy closest to me, the brindle, which is limp in my hand, and shove it down my shirt.

Derived terms

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Adjective

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brindle (comparative more brindle, superlative most brindle)

  1. Having such a colouration; brindled.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Verb

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brindle (third-person singular simple present brindles, present participle brindling, simple past and past participle brindled)

  1. To form streaks of a different color.
    • 1841, The Metropolitan - Volume 30, page 226:
      Sorely too as I laboured and toiled, the reward of toil would not come ; already my back began to curve, and my hair to brindle itself with gray, yet I saw no luck before me.
    • 1925, D.H. Lawrence, Reflections on the Death of Porcupine and Other Essays:
      It is the perfect opposition of dark and light that brindles the tiger with gold flame and dark flame.
    • 1993, Peter Warner, Perfect Cats, page 78:
      The darkest areas (the points) may brindle or become bleached by brilliant sunlight, especially in chocolate and white points.

References

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Anagrams

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