I. ˈfrekəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English frekel, frakel, alteration of freken, fraken, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse frekn ōttr freckled, Icelandic & Norwegian dialect frekna freckle; akin to Middle High German sprinkel, sprenkel spot, Old English spearca spark — more at spark
1.
a. : a small brownish spot in the skin usually due to precipitation of pigment on exposure to sunlight — called also ephelis ; compare lentigo
b. : any spot or small bit of coloring or discoloration
you felt that the sun would … send little freckles of light to dance upon her — Edith Sitwell
specifically : a superficial spot on the skin of fruits (as in peach scab)
2. : an instance of freckling or a spotted condition produced by or resembling freckles
a shadowy freckle had strewn itself throughout her ivory skin — Glenway Wescott
the freckle of red villas on the coast — Virginia Woolf
II. verb
( freckled ; freckled ; freckling -k(ə)liŋ ; freckles )
transitive verb
: to sprinkle or mark with freckles or small spots : spot
the tiny, black spots (actually, a species of mushroom) that freckle their walls — P.E.Deutschman
watching the lights from outside my window freckle the ceiling with color — E.L.Wallant
intransitive verb
: to become covered or marked with freckles
a skin that freckles but does not tan in the sun