Dictionary Definition
motley adj
1 consisting of a haphazard assortment of
different kinds (even to the point of incongruity); "an arrangement
of assorted spring flowers"; "assorted sizes"; "miscellaneous
accessories"; "a mixed program of baroque and contemporary music";
"a motley crew"; "sundry sciences commonly known as social"-
I.A.Richards [syn: assorted, miscellaneous, mixed, sundry(a)]
2 having sections or patches colored differently
and usually brightly; "a jester dressed in motley"; "the painted
desert"; "a particolored dress"; "a piebald horse"; "pied daisies"
[syn: calico, multicolor, multicolour, multicolored, multicoloured, painted, particolored, particoloured, piebald, pied, varicolored, varicoloured]
Noun
1 a collection containing a variety of sorts of
things; "a great assortment of cars was on display"; "he had a
variety of disorders"; "a veritable smorgasbord of religions" [syn:
assortment, mixture, mixed bag,
miscellany, miscellanea, variety, salmagundi, smorgasbord, potpourri]
2 a garment made of motley (especially a court
jester's costume)
3 a multicolored woolen fabric woven of mixed
threads in 14th to 17th century England
Verb
2 make motley; color with different colors [syn:
parti-color]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Adjective
- Comprising greatly varied elements, to the point of incongruity; heterogeneous
- Having many colours; variegated
Translations
Comprising greatly varied elements
- Finnish: sekalainen
Having many colours; variegated
- Finnish: kirjava
Noun
- A jester's multicoloured clothes
- An incongruous mixture
Extensive Definition
Motley refers to the traditional costume of the court jester
or the harlequin
character in commedia
dell'arte. The latter wears a patchwork of red, green and blue
diamonds that is still a fashion motif.
The word motley is described in the Oxford
English Dictionary as a cognate with medley, although
the unrelated mottled has also contributed to the meaning. The word
is most commonly used as an adjective or noun, but is also seen as a
verb and adverb. When used as a noun, it
can mean "a varied mixture."
The word originated in England between the 14th
and 17th centuries and referred to a woolen fabric of mixed colors.
It was the characteristic dress of the professional fool. During
the reign of Elizabeth
I, motley served the important purpose of keeping the fool
outside the social hierarchy and therefore not subject to class
distinction. Since the fool was outside the dress laws (sumptuary
law), the fool was able to speak more freely.
Likewise, motley did not have to be checkered and
has been recently thought to be one pattern with different colored
threads running through it.
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Columbine, Hanswurst, Harlequin, Pantalone, Pantaloon, Polichinelle, Pulcinella, Punch, Punchinello, Scaramouch, amalgamated, ambiguous, ambivalent, amphibious, assorted, assortment, at odds, at
variance, ballet skirt, band, bar, bespangle, bespeckle, bespot, bicolor, bicolored, bladder, blended, blotch, buffo, buffoon, buskin, calico, cap and bells, capricious, changeable, changing, check, checker, choppy, chromatic, clouded, clown, cold, colluvies, colorful, colorific, coloring, colory, combined, complex, composite, compound, compounded, conglomerate, contrary, contrasted, contrasting, cool, costume, coxcomb, crazy, daedal, dapple, dappled, departing, deviating, deviative, deviatory, dichromatic, different, differentiated, differing, disaccordant, disagreeing, discolor, discordant, discrepant, discrete, discriminated, disguise, disjoined, disorderly, disparate, dissimilar, dissonant, distinct, distinguished, divaricate, divergent, diverging, divers, divers-colored, diverse, diversified, diversiform, dot, eclectic, equivocal, erose, erratic, fifty-fifty, flake, fleck, fool, freckle, gallimaufry, getup, glowing, half-and-half, harlequin, harmonious, heterogeneous, hodgepodge, idiot, impulsive, in disagreement,
inaccordant,
incompatible,
incongruous,
inconsistent,
inconsonant,
inconstant, indiscriminate, inharmonious, intricate, iris, ironic, irreconcilable, irregular, jack-pudding,
jagged, jerky, jester, jumble, jumbled, kaleidoscopic, maculate, many, many-colored, many-sided,
marble, marbled, marbleize, masquerade, matching, medley, mercurial, merry-andrew,
mingled, miscellaneous, mixed, monochromatic, monochrome, monochromic, motley fool,
mottle, mottled, multicolor, multicolored, multicolorous, multifaceted, multifarious, multihued, multinational, multiracial, mutable, nonconformist, nonstandard, nonuniform, omnium-gatherum,
outfit, parti-color,
parti-colored, pastiche, patchy, pepper, pepper-and-salt,
pickle-herring, piebald,
pied, pigmentary, pinto, pluralistic, poles apart,
poles asunder, polychromatic, polychrome, polychromic, polychromize, prismal, prismatic, promiscuous, ragged, rainbow, rig, rough, salad, scrambled, separate, separated, several, shot, shot through, skewbald, slapstick, sock, spangle, spasmodic, speck, speckle, spectral, splotch, sporadic, spot, sprinkle, stigmatize, stipple, streak, striate, stripe, stud, syncretic, tattoo, tessellate, thrown together,
thunder and lightning, tights, tinctorial, tingent, toning, trichromatic, trichromic, tricolor, tricolored, tutu, two-tone, unconformable, uncongenial, unequable, unequal, uneven, unlike, unorthodox, unstable, unsteady, unsystematic, ununiform, variable, variant, varicolored, varied, variegate, variegated, variform, various, varying, vein, versicolor, versicolored, warm, wavering, widely apart, worlds
apart, zany