I. ˈmätlē, -li adjective
( sometimes motleyer or motlier sometimes motleyest or motliest )
Etymology: Middle English motteley, motley, perhaps from mot speck — more at mote
1. : marked by a mixture of usually startlingly diverse or haphazardly arranged colors : parti-colored
Swiss guardsmen in the strange motley garb … contrived for them — Nathaniel Hawthorne
clad in a motley coat with red-and-yellow scarf — J.P.O'Donnell
2. obsolete : made of motley
a leather bag, a motley jacket — Richard Brathwaite
3.
a. : diverse , heterogeneous
how motley are the qualities that go to make up a human being — W.S.Maugham
these motley elements of skepticism and reform — Felix Frankfurter
b. : composed of a haphazard and incongruous mixture of heterogeneous elements
lived in varied cities and very motley societies — G.K.Chesterton
the motley speakers of late provincial Latin — Yakov Malkiel
a motley crowd
a motley crew
a motley scene
Synonyms: see variegated
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English motteley, motley, probably from motteley, motley, adjective
1. : a varicolored woolen fabric woven of mixed threads in 14th to 17th century England and used especially for clothing and cloth bags
2.
a. : a garment of this fabric ; especially : the characteristic dress of the professional fool
motley ' s the only wear — Shakespeare
b. : the guise or character of a comedian
no circus clown … when he has put aside the makeup and the motley — Emmett Kelly
a reign where even tragedy was expected to wear motley — Frances Winwar
3.
a. : a professional fool : jester
all the motleys with their caps and bells — W.H.Dixon
b. : a person who by overfamiliarity or clowning cuts a ludicrous figure in company
made myself a motley to the view — Shakespeare
making herself a motley to the view with all fresh acquaintances — Angela Thirkell
4. : a heterogeneous collection or mixture of incongruous elements : medley
a motley of borrowed or invented raiment — Ellen Glasgow
a motley of hand-me-downs, baggy generalities, and shabby prejudices — H.J.Muller
a motley of nations … thrown together — A.L.Kroeber
III. transitive verb
( motleyed ; motleyed ; motleying ; motleys )
Etymology: Middle English motleyen, from motteley, motley, adjective
: to make motley or variegated