motley

[ mot-lee ]
See synonyms for motley on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. exhibiting great diversity of elements: a motley crowd.

  2. being of different colors combined: a motley flower border.

  1. wearing a parti-colored garment: a motley fool.

noun,plural mot·leys.
  1. a combination of different colors.

  2. a parti-colored effect.

  1. the parti-colored garment of a jester.

  2. a heterogeneous assemblage.

  3. a medley.

Origin of motley

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English motele, motlay, mottelay “mixture of colors, variegated; a parti-colored garment”; of uncertain origin; perhaps akin to mote1.See -ly

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Other definitions for Motley (2 of 2)

Motley
[ mot-lee ]

noun
  1. John Lo·throp [loh-thruhp], /ˈloʊ θrəp/, 1814–77, U.S. historian and diplomat.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use motley in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for motley

motley

/ (ˈmɒtlɪ) /


adjective
  1. made up of elements of varying type, quality, etc

  2. multicoloured

noun
  1. a motley collection or mixture

  2. the particoloured attire of a jester

  1. obsolete a jester

Origin of motley

1
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