dotted

Dotted is an adjective describing something that is covered with or composed of dots, or something that uses dot-like marks as a characteristic feature. The term is applied across a range of fields to denote a pattern, notation, or style that includes small circular marks or separators.

In graphic design and typography, dotted patterns and borders appear as sequences of evenly spaced dots. A dotted line is a line made up of dots rather than a continuous stroke. In digital interfaces, CSS and other styling languages can render borders or dividers as dotted to achieve a specific visual effect.

In music, a dot following a note increases its duration by half of the original value, creating a dotted note. Dots can also combine to yield rhythmic patterns, such as dotted rhythms that extend the duration of adjacent notes.

In computing and data notation, dotted formats use dots as separators. Dotted decimal notation is used in IPv4 addresses (for example, 192.0.2.1). The dot also plays a syntactic role in Lisp-style dotted-pair notation, where a period separates two expressions. Domain names are written with dots to separate hierarchical levels (for example, example.com).

In orthography, the term commonly refers to the diacritic dot over certain letters, notably the i and j, known as a tittle. The presence or absence of this dot can distinguish characters in some fonts and languages.

In cartography and data visualization, dotted lines may indicate provisional, uncertain, or non-final boundaries or paths. The meaning of “dotted” is therefore context-dependent and defined by the relevant discipline.