maculation

Noun

maculation (countable and uncountable, plural maculations)

1. (obsolete) The act of spotting; a spot; a blemish.
   • I speak not ‘be thou true,’ as fearing thee,
     For I will throw my glove to Death himself,
     That there’s no maculation in thy heart:c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
   • He could make out a mottled pattern on the hollow cheeks—the maculations of decay.1891, Ambrose Bierce, “A Holy Terror” in Tales of Soldiers and Civilians, San Francisco: E. L. G. Steele, p. 218
2. (uncountable) A pattern of spots.
   • Females [of the species Speyeria nokomis] are cream above with heavy black maculation accompanied by much dark suffusion.1975, William H. Howe, editor, The Butterflies of North America, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, page 217
   • [This lichen] species […] is recognized by […] more or less distinct maculation on the upper surface, and pale brown lower surface.1990, Mason E. Hale, A Synopsis of the Lichen Genus Xanthoparmelia (Vainio) Hale (Ascomycotina, Parmeliaceae), Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, p. 195