dot 1
— dotlike , adj. — dotter , n.
/dot/ , n. , v. , dotted, dotting .
n.
1. a small, roundish mark made with or as if with a pen.
2. a minute or small spot on a surface; speck: There were dots of soot on the window sill.
3. anything relatively small or specklike.
4. a small specimen, section, amount, or portion: a dot of butter.
5. a period, esp. as used when pronouncing an Internet address.
6. Music.
a. a point placed after a note or rest, to indicate that the duration of the note or rest is to be increased one half. A double dot further increases the duration by one half the value of the single dot.
b. a point placed under or over a note to indicate that it is to be played staccato.
7. Teleg. a signal of shorter duration than a dash, used in groups along with groups of dashes and spaces to represent letters, as in Morse code.
8. Print. an individual element in a halftone reproduction.
9. on the dot , Informal. precisely; exactly at the time specified: The guests arrived at eight o'clock on the dot.
10. the year dot , Brit. Informal. very long ago.
v.t.
11. to mark with or as if with a dot or dots.
12. to stud or diversify with or as if with dots: Trees dot the landscape.
13. to form or cover with dots: He dotted a line across the page.
14. Cookery. to sprinkle with dabs of butter, margarine, or the like: Dot the filling with butter.
v.i.
15. to make a dot or dots.
16. dot one's i's and cross one's t's , to be meticulous or precise, even to the smallest detail.
[ bef. 1000; perh. to be identified with OE dott head of a boil, though not attested in ME; cf. DOTTLE, dit, deriv. of OE dyttan to stop up (prob. deriv. of dott ); c. OHG tutta nipple ]
dot 2
— dotal /doht"l/ , adj.
/dot, dawt/ , n. Civil Law.
dowry (def. 1).
[ 1850-55; dotem, acc. of dos dowry, akin to dare to give ]