speck
n. countablen. a very small piece of something, like dust or dirt. You use this to describe a tiny mark or spot that is hard to see.
n. a minute spot, mark, or particle of a substance. Often used to emphasize the total absence of something when used in the negative.
There is a speck of dust on your shirt.
The kitchen was perfectly clean, without a single speck of grease on the counters.
From the airplane window, the massive cargo ships in the harbor looked like tiny specks of paint against the deep blue of the ocean.
From Middle English spekke, from Old English specca (“small spot, stain”), from the same ultimate source as Proto-Germanic *sprakô (“spark”). Cognate with Low German spaken (“to spot with wet”).
From earlier specke, spycke (probably reinforced by Dutch spek, German Speck), from Middle English spik, spyk, spike, spich, from Old English spic (“bacon; lard; fat”), from Proto-West Germanic spik, from Proto-Germanic spiką (“bacon”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Späk, Dutch spek, German Speck, Icelandic spik.