mot´ley|ness

mot|ley «MOT lee», adjective, noun, plural -leys.

–adj.

1. made up of different things or kinds: »

a motley crowd, a motley collection of butterflies, shells, and stamps.

SYNONYM(S): heterogeneous.

2. of different colors like a clown's suit: »

dressed in the motley garb that jesters wear (Longfellow).

SYNONYM(S): variegated, harlequin.

3. wearing motley: »

a motley fool (Shakespeare).

–n.

1. a mixture of things that are different. SYNONYM(S): medley, mélange.

2. a suit of more than one color worn by clowns: »

At the party he wore motley. Old-time fools and jesters wore motley.

3. a jester; fool: »

I have gone here and there and made myself a motley to the view (Shakespeare).

4. a woolen fabric of mixed colors, used for clothing from the 1300's to 1600's, especially in England.

╂[Middle English motteley, apparently < unrecorded Anglo-French motelé < Old English mot mote¹]

–mot´ley|ness, noun.