- 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.
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.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.