Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PIED, a. [allied probably to pie, in piebald, and a contracted word, perhaps from the root of L. pictus.]

Variegated with spots of different colors; spotted. We now apply the word chiefly or wholly to animals which are marked with large spots of different colors. If the spots are small, we use speckled. This distinction was not formerly observed, and in some cases, pied is elegantly used to express a diversity of colors in small spots. Meadows trim with daisies pied. – Milton.