tr.v., -lat·ed, -lat·ing, -lates.
To form into a mosaic pattern, as by using small squares of stone or glass.
[From Latin tessellātus, of small square stones, from tessella, small cube, diminutive of tessera, a square. See tessera.]
tessellation tes'sel·la'tion n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.