medley

[ med-lee ]

/ ˈmɛd li /

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noun, plural med·leys.

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

a piece of music combining tunes or passages from various sources: a medley of hit songs from Broadway shows.

adjective

Archaic. mixed; mingled.

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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”; see origin at meddle

Words nearby medley

medium wave, medius, medivac, medlar, Med. Lat., medley, medley relay, Médoc, Medon, medrese, medroxyprogesterone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use medley in a sentence

The first track was an overture from the game Dragon Quest, according to a list of songs in the medley published by Nikkei.
Video game themes are the soundtrack to the Tokyo Olympics|Marc Bain|July 23, 2021|Quartz
We stopped at the goal post, and went through a medley of five minutes of all the Penn tunes in a swing version.
Elliot Lawrence, 1940s bandleader who conducted Tony Award shows, dies at 96|Matt Schudel|July 21, 2021|Washington Post
The medley of conservative voters, politicians, activists and political commentators that descended on Dallas this past weekend for this year’s second Conservative Political Action Conference certainly did.
CPAC Emphasized Republicans’ Obsession With 2020|Alex Samuels (Alex.L.Samuels@disney.com)|July 12, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
It’s also the first simulation to account for the whole medley of physical phenomena thought to influence star formation, researchers report online May 17 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Watch this beautiful, high-resolution simulation of how stars are born|Maria Temming|May 20, 2021|Science News

Budweiser Light did this last September when it launched the “Battle of the Best” tournament where some of Twitch’s top streamers and personalities competed against each other in a medley of games.
‘It’s easy to put your name on something’: Hollister on why owning, not sponsoring esports events is working for its brand|Seb Joseph|April 30, 2021|Digiday
Not to mention what happens when this medley of men comes back home.
Dutch Biker Gangs Vs. ISIS|Nadette De Visser, Christopher Dickey|December 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Rumor has it Destiny's Child may be coming out to perform a greatest hits medley in the middle of it.
Jay and Bey, On The Run For One Night Only|Starbucks|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The jukebox plays a medley of sixties tunes, an apt and agreeable feature.
All Hail Richard Hamilton, the Father of British Pop Art|Chloë Ashby|February 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Years passed and I decided to upload a medley of these ragtime rock songs on YouTube, and that gained some traction.
Doo-Wop ‘We Can’t Stop’: Behind the Ridiculously Good Miley Cyrus Cover|Kevin Fallon|September 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Thankfully, Monteith's duel with Mr. Schuester provided a perfect opportunity for such a medley.
Cory Monteith’s Best ‘Glee’ Performances|Jake Heller|July 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This monstrous medley gave birth to the macaroni style, the very climax of barbarism.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10)|Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
There were boxes of cakes, fruit, and eggs; and jinrikishas piled with a medley of gifts.
The Dragon Painter|Mary McNeil Fenollosa
I do not know how I could have looked Elfrida in the face again had he indeed risen no more from that medley.
A Prince of Cornwall|Charles W. Whistler
Three thousand years ago the Italian peninsula presented a veritable medley of races.
The Two Great Republics: Rome and the United States|James Hamilton Lewis
We go ashore in a launch and are met on the quay by a medley of strange folk and a great clamour of voices!
Round the Wonderful World|G. E. Mitton

British Dictionary definitions for medley

medley

/ (ˈmɛdlɪ) /

noun

a mixture of various types or elements

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

Also called: medley relay

swimming a race in which a different stroke is used for each length
athletics a relay race in which each leg has a different distance

an archaic word for melee

adjective

of, being, or relating to a mixture or variety

Word Origin for medley

C14: from Old French medlee, from medler to mix, quarrel

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

medley

Origin of medley

Words nearby medley

Words related to medley

How to use medley in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for medley

Word Origin for medley