motley fool

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

motley (“multi-colored cloth; a jester's clothes”) +‎ fool (“a jester”)

Noun[edit]

motley fool (plural motley fools)

  1. Court jester; jester.
    • c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:
      A fool, a fool! I met a fool i’ th’ forest, / A motley fool. A miserable world!
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