Lexic.us

Definition of Motley

1. Adjective. Consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds. "Sundry sciences commonly known as social"

2. Verb. Make something more diverse and varied. "Vary the menu"

3. Noun. A collection containing a variety of sorts of things. "A veritable smorgasbord of religions"

4. Adjective. Having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly. "Pied daisies"

5. Verb. Make motley; color with different colors.

6. Noun. A garment made of motley (especially a court jester's costume).

7. Noun. A multicolored woolen fabric woven of mixed threads in 14th to 17th century England.

Definition of Motley

1. a. Variegated in color; consisting of different colors; dappled; party-colored; as, a motley coat.

2. n. A combination of distinct colors; esp., the party-colored cloth, or clothing, worn by the professional fool.

Definition of Motley

1. Adjective. Comprising greatly varied elements, to the point of incongruity; heterogeneous ¹

2. Adjective. Having many colours; variegated ¹

3. Noun. A jester's multicoloured clothes ¹

4. Noun. An incongruous mixture ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Motley

1. composed of diverse elements [adj -LEYER, -LEYEST or -LIER, -LIEST] / a garment of various colors [n -LEYS]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Motley

motivative(a) motivator motivators motive motive(a) motive power motived motiveless motivelessly motivelessness

motives motivic motiving motivities motivity motley (current term) motley crew motley crews motley fool motleyer

motleyest motleys motlier motliest motmot motmots moto-cross moto-x motocross motocrosses

Literary usage of Motley

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors by Charles Wells Moulton (1904)
"War, and everything was going on delightfully, when an unlucky Russian, leaning across the table, said—"Mr. motley, I understand that you have given a great ..."

2. The New Englander by William Lathrop Kingsley (1879)
"The youth of Mr. motley was passed in Boston, and his two principal ... l*dy Byron afterwards said of him that he was more like her * John lathrop motley. ..."

3. New Englander and Yale Review by Edward Royall Tyler, William Lathrop Kingsley, George Park Fisher, Timothy Dwight (1879)
"HOLMES'S MEMOIR OF THE HISTORIAN motley.*—Apart from the interest which attaches itself to this book as a memoir of one whose career was so conspicuous and ..."

4. A History of the United States Since the Civil War by Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer (1922)
"JOHN LOTHROP motley upper house of Congress. He was confirmed without opposition 1 and proceeded to London. That he would not remain very long was clearly ..."

5. American Prose: Selections by George Rice Carpenter (1898)
"IT is not unnatural at first to compare motley with Prescott. Indeed, the comparison forced itself ... But motley could not have been disinterestedly impar- ..."

6. An Introduction to American Literature by Henry Spackman Pancoast (1898)
"Prescott excelled in the orderly movement of his narrative, but motley possessed a dramatic instinct which enabled him to seize upon some revealing ..."

7. The Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors by Charles Wells Moulton (1904)
"War, and everything was going on delightfully, when an unlucky Russian, leaning across the table, said—"Mr. motley, I understand that you have given a great ..."

8. The New Englander by William Lathrop Kingsley (1879)
"The youth of Mr. motley was passed in Boston, and his two principal ... l*dy Byron afterwards said of him that he was more like her * John lathrop motley. ..."

9. New Englander and Yale Review by Edward Royall Tyler, William Lathrop Kingsley, George Park Fisher, Timothy Dwight (1879)
"HOLMES'S MEMOIR OF THE HISTORIAN motley.*—Apart from the interest which attaches itself to this book as a memoir of one whose career was so conspicuous and ..."

10. A History of the United States Since the Civil War by Ellis Paxson Oberholtzer (1922)
"JOHN LOTHROP motley upper house of Congress. He was confirmed without opposition 1 and proceeded to London. That he would not remain very long was clearly ..."

11. American Prose: Selections by George Rice Carpenter (1898)
"IT is not unnatural at first to compare motley with Prescott. Indeed, the comparison forced itself ... But motley could not have been disinterestedly impar- ..."

12. An Introduction to American Literature by Henry Spackman Pancoast (1898)
"Prescott excelled in the orderly movement of his narrative, but motley possessed a dramatic instinct which enabled him to seize upon some revealing ..."

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