motley
[mot-lee]
- exhibiting great diversity of elements: a motley crowd.
- being of different colors combined: a motley flower border.
- wearing a parti-colored garment: a motley fool.
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- a combination of different colors.
- a parti-colored effect.
- the parti-colored garment of a jester.
- a heterogeneous assemblage.
- a medley.
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Origin of motley
Motley
[mot-lee]
- John Lo·throp [loh-thruh p] /ˈloʊ θrəp/, 1814–77, U.S. historian and diplomat.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for motley
Contemporary Examples
A motley crew of former sailors led by Commodore Joshua Barney mounted the only real resistance to the British.
Well, it was based on an amalgam of bands—Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Motley Crue, Judas Priest, and Van Halen.
Rob Reiner on the State of Romcoms, ‘The Princess Bride’s’ Alternate Ending, and the Red ViperMarlow Stern
July 27, 2014
A motley crew, to be sure: Islamic states, sub-Saharan Africa, China.
The motley crew cast participates in an illegal cross-country car race, while doing anything to win.
And a motley cast of characters—is that a guy in a chicken costume?
Historical Examples
I trust not the varlet with whom I bartered it for my motley.
The Armourer's PrenticesCharlotte M. Yonge
I mingled with the motley throng, my ears alert for any spoken opinions.
The UnderdogF. Hopkinson Smith
The motley passengers were all sound asleep; no one had been disturbed by the fracas.
Pirates of the GormNat Schachner
Hundreds of them there were, men of all races and planets, a motley crew.
Pirates of the GormNat Schachner
The scene was changed now; the whole room was a mob—“motley the only wear.”
The First ViolinJessie Fothergill
motley
- made up of elements of varying type, quality, etc
- multicoloured
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- a motley collection or mixture
- the particoloured attire of a jester
- obsolete a jester
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Word Origin
C14: perhaps from mot speck, mote 1
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
Word Origin and History for motley
adj.
late 14c., "parti-colored" (originally of fabric), from Anglo-French motteley, probably from Old English mot "speck" (see mote). But Klein's sources say probably from Gaulish. "Diversified in color," especially of a fool's dress. Hence, allusively, "a fool" (1600). As a noun meaning "cloth of mixed color" from late 14c.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper