tessellated

Tessellated is an adjective describing a surface or pattern formed by a tessellation—a tiling of the plane using shapes that fit together without gaps or overlaps. The word comes from Latin tessellatus, "made of small tiles," from tessella, "a small tile."

In geometry and mathematics, tessellated patterns are produced by tilings of the plane by congruent or non-congruent shapes, including regular tilings by squares, equilateral triangles, or hexagons, as well as more complex or aperiodic tilings such as Penrose tilings.

In architecture, art, and design, tessellated commonly describes mosaics, mosaic floors, and pavements where many small pieces are set flush against each other to form a continuous decorative pattern.

In geology and materials science, the term may be used to describe mosaic-like textures where mineral grains or crystals interlock in a tessellated arrangement.

Related forms include tessellate (verb) and tessellation (noun).