motley
- 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.
- a combination of different colors.
- a parti-colored effect.
- the parti-colored garment of a jester.
- a heterogeneous assemblage.
- a medley.
Origin of motley
Motley
- John Lo·throp [loh-thruh p] /ˈloʊ θrəp/, 1814–77, U.S. historian and diplomat.
Related Words for motley
kaleidoscopic, disparate, conglomerate, rainbow, assorted, diversified, variegated, mottled, dappled, mixed, discrepant, dissimilar, heterogeneous, indiscriminate, miscellaneous, multicolored, unlike, various, multicolor, multiformExamples from the Web for motley
Contemporary Examples of motley
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 of motley
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
- a motley collection or mixture
- the particoloured attire of a jester
- obsolete a jester
Word Origin for motley
Word Origin and History for motley
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.