motley

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl]  motteley (“parti-colored”), late 14th c., from Old English mot (“speck”), cognate with mote.

Adjective

motley (comparative more motley, superlative most motley)

1. Comprising greatly varied elements, to the point of incongruity; heterogeneous.
   • Template:RQ:EHough PrqsPrc

     Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, […]. Even such a boat as the Mount Vernon offered a total deck space so cramped as to leave secrecy or privacy well out of the question, even had the motley and democratic assemblage of passengers been disposed to accord either.

2. Having many colours; variegated.

Synonyms

• (comprising greatly varied elements): diverse, manifold; see also Thesaurus:heterogeneous
• (having many colours): colorful, prismatic, variegated; see also Thesaurus:multicolored

Derived terms

• motley crew

Translations

comprising greatly varied elements

• Dutch: bont (nl), samengeraapt
• Finnish: sekalainen (fi)
• German: zusammengewürfelt, bunt zusammengeworfen
• Italian: variegato (it), eterogeneo (it)
• Japanese: ごちゃ混ぜの (gochamaze no), 寄せ集めの (yoseatsume no)
• Persian: آمیخته (fa) (âmixta(e))
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: misto (pt)
• Romanian: pestriț (ro), variat (ro), felurit (ro)
• Russian: разношёрстный (ru) (raznošórstnyj) (partly)
• Spanish: mezcolanza f, batiburrillo (es) m, heterogéneo (es) m, variopinto (es) m, variado (es) m, abigarrado (es) m
• Swedish: brokig (sv)

having many colours; variegated

• Bashkir: сыбар (sıbar)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 五顏六色／五颜六色 (zh) (wǔyánliùsè), 五颜六色 (zh) (wǔyánliùsè)

• Dutch: bont (nl), geschakeerd (nl)
• Finnish: kirjava (fi)
• German: bunt (de), vielfarbig (de)
• Italian: multicolore (it), variegato (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 雑色の (zasshoku no)
• Lithuanian: margas (lt)
• Persian: رنگارنگ (fa) (rangârang)
• Portuguese: variegado (pt)
• Romanian: pestriț (ro), vărgat (ro), multicolor (ro)
• Russian: разноцве́тный (ru) (raznocvétnyj), пёстрый (ru) (pjóstryj)
• Spanish: abigarrado (es) m

Noun

motley (plural motleys)

1. An incongruous mixture.
2. A jester's multicoloured clothes.
3. (by extension) A jester; a fool.
   • 1598, William Shakespeare, As You Like It, III. iii. 71:

     Will you be married, motley?

   • 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 110:

     Alas, 'tis true, I have gone here and there, / And made myself a motley to the view,

Translations

an incongruous mixture

• Dutch: mengelmoes (nl) m or f or n
• Japanese: ごちゃ混ぜ (gochamaze), 寄せ集め (yoseatsume)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Persian: ناهمگون (nāhamgun)
• Russian: пестрота (ru) f (pestrota), мешани́на (ru) f (mešanína)