Variegate comes from Latin variegātus, past participle of variegāre ('to make of various colors'), from varius ('diverse, spotted') plus agere ('to drive, do'). In current use it is a verb meaning "to mark with varied colors or patches; to make varied". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Latin variegāre and Latin varius. Related English forms include various, variety, and vary. Derived forms include variegation and variegated. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning.