fern-tickles (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict[fern-tickles 词源字典]
"freckles, spots or blemishes on the body" (late 14c.), of unknown origin. Related: Fern-tickled "having spots or blemishes on the skin."[fern-tickles etymology, fern-tickles origin, 英语词源]
freckle (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
late 14c., also frecken, probably from Old Norse freknur (plural) "freckles" (cognates: Icelandic frekna, Danish fregne, Swedish frägne "freckle"), from PIE *(s)preg- (2) "to jerk, scatter" (see sprout (v.)). Related: Freckles.
petechia (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
plural petechiae, "small crimson or purple spots on skin," c. 1795 (from 1580s in English texts as an Italian word), Modern Latin, from Italian petecchia "specks or freckles on the face," in plural form petecchie "measles," of unknown origin. Related: Petechial.
sparse (adj.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
1727, from Latin sparsus "scattered," past participle of spargere "to scatter, spread," from PIE root *(s)preg- (2) "to jerk, scatter" (cognates: Sanskrit parjanya- "rain, rain god," Avestan fra-sparega "branch, twig," literally "that which is jerked off a tree," Old Norse freknur "freckles," Swedish dialectal sprygg "brisk, active," Lithuanian sprogti "shoot, bud," Old Irish arg "a drop"). The word is found earlier in English as a verb, "to scatter abroad" (16c.). Related: Sparsely; sparseness.