# Names for surface patterns? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-surface-patterns/993261 "2023-11-16T19:34:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-surface-patterns/993261/1 "2023-11-16T19:34:12Z")
Plants and animals often include in their name (common or taxonomic) a word that describes the coloration on various parts of their body: reticulated, variegated, serrated, and so on. Tesselated is another such word, used to describe a repeating/regular pattern of shapes. What other words like these are used to describe patterns on surfaces? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-surface-patterns/993261/2 "2023-11-16T20:12:14Z")
Spotted and Striped. (To simple it up) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-surface-patterns/993261/3 "2023-11-16T20:21:59Z")
Calico and brindle. There are any number of them named for the animals that sport them, leopard print, giraffe, zebra, etc. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-surface-patterns/993261/4 "2023-11-16T20:42:41Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > What other words like these are used to describe patterns on surfaces? Checkered Particoloured Brindled Dappled Tabby Pied Skewbald Maculate Barred ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-surface-patterns/993261/5 "2023-11-16T20:45:42Z")
ocellated ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-surface-patterns/993261/6 "2023-11-16T20:51:00Z")
There is also piebald, which is different from skewbald in that piebald means patched in black and white, while skewbald means patched in two colours but usually implies white and a color that is NOT black. This is as distinct from another of @MrDibble 's examples, pied, which means patched in two colors and they can be any color. SPECIFIC patterns in horses and dogs have their own names, too, often to ludicrous degrees of specificity. A piebald horse might be sabino, or it might be tovero, or who the hell knows what else. English is weird. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/names-for-surface-patterns/993261/7 "2023-11-16T21:38:44Z")
> **[Looney Tunes - Cal the Chameleon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f32Y0dToXso%2F)** > > Color changing artist.