medley

American  

[med-lee] / ˈmɛd li /

noun

plural

medleys

1. a mixture, especially of heterogeneous elements; hodgepodge; jumble.

2. a piece of music combining tunes or passages from various sources.

   a medley of hit songs from Broadway shows.

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adjective

1. Archaic. mixed; mingled.

medley British  

/ ˈmɛdlɪ /

noun

1. a mixture of various types or elements

2. a musical composition consisting of various tunes arranged as a continuous whole

3. Also called: medley relay. 

   1. swimming a race in which a different stroke is used for each length

   2. athletics a relay race in which each leg has a different distance

4. an archaic word for melee

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adjective

1. of, being, or relating to a mixture or variety

Etymology

Origin of medley

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English noun and adjective medle(e), medlei(e), maedlai(e) “battle, war, quarrel; mixture, balanced mixture,” from Anglo-French, Old French medlee, mellee, noun and adjective use of feminine of past participle of medler “to mix, fight”; meddle

Example Sentences

Jelly of the Month Club hits every beat and chord with precision, with arrangements of songs and medleys that bring together the power of rock’s past with the whimsy of “Peanuts.”

From Los Angeles Times

The 21-year-old produced a stunning performance while competing to a medley from "The Lost Crown" video game, scoring 108.16 points to put him in pole position going into Friday's free skating final.

From Barron's

Latin megastar Bad Bunny performed a medley of his top hits at the Super Bowl on Sunday in a star-studded show that was criticised as "terrible" by the US president.

From BBC

There’s kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, spinach and mustard greens — a medley of leafy green vegetables that are best enjoyed massaged in olive oil, slow-cooked or sautéed.

From Salon

A medley of scents drifted toward us as we approached the shore—corn porridge, bean cakes, donuts fried in coconut oil.

From Literature