mot·ley

(mŏt′lē)

adj.

1. Having elements of great variety or incongruity; heterogeneous: a motley collection of students at the coffee shop.

2. Having many colors; variegated; parti-colored: a motley tunic.

n. pl. mot·leys

1. The parti-colored attire of a court jester.

2. A heterogeneous, often incongruous mixture of elements.

[Middle English motlei, variegated cloth, variegated, probably from Anglo-Norman, probably from Middle English mot, speck; see mote¹.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

motley

(ˈmɒtlɪ)

adj

1. made up of elements of varying type, quality, etc

2. (Colours) multicoloured

3. a motley collection or mixture

4. (Clothing & Fashion) the particoloured attire of a jester

5. (Theatre) obsolete a jester

[C14: perhaps from mot speck, mote¹]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mot•ley

(ˈmɒt li)

adj., n., pl. -leys. adj.

1. exhibiting great diversity of elements; heterogeneous.

2. being of different colors combined; parti-colored.

3. wearing a parti-colored garment: a motley fool.

4. a combination of different colors.

5. the parti-colored garment of a jester.

6. a heterogeneous assemblage.

[1350–1400; Middle English; orig. obscure]

Mot•ley

(ˈmɒt li)

n.

John Lothrop, 1814–77, U.S. historian.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	motley - a collection containing a variety of sorts of things; "a great assortment of cars was on display"; "he had a variety of disorders"; "a veritable smorgasbord of religions" assortment, miscellanea, miscellany, mixed bag, potpourri, salmagundi, smorgasbord, variety, mixture aggregation, collection, accumulation, assemblage - several things grouped together or considered as a whole grab bag - an assortment of miscellaneous items witches' brew, witches' broth, witch's brew - a fearsome mixture; "a witches' brew of gangsters and terrorists"; "mixing dope and alcohol creates a witches' brew" range - a variety of different things or activities; "he answered a range of questions"; "he was impressed by the range and diversity of the collection" selection - an assortment of things from which a choice can be made; "the store carried a large selection of shoes" farrago, gallimaufry, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, melange, mingle-mangle, mishmash, oddments, odds and ends, omnium-gatherum, ragbag - a motley assortment of things alphabet soup - a confusing assortment; "Roosevelt created an alphabet soup of federal agencies" sampler - an assortment of various samples; "a candy sampler"; "a sampler of French poets"
	2.	motley - a garment made of motley (especially a court jester's costume) garment - an article of clothing; "garments of the finest silk" motley - a multicolored woolen fabric woven of mixed threads in 14th to 17th century England
	3.	motley - a multicolored woolen fabric woven of mixed threads in 14th to 17th century England cloth, fabric, textile, material - artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers; "the fabric in the curtains was light and semitransparent"; "woven cloth originated in Mesopotamia around 5000 BC"; "she measured off enough material for a dress" motley - a garment made of motley (especially a court jester's costume)
Verb	1.	motley - make something more diverse and varied; "Vary the menu" variegate, vary diversify - make (more) diverse; "diversify a course of study" checker, chequer - variegate with different colors, shades, or patterns
	2.	motley - make motley; color with different colors parti-color color, color in, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film"
Adj.	1.	motley - consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds; "an arrangement of assorted spring flowers"; "assorted sizes"; "miscellaneous accessories"; "a mixed program of baroque and contemporary music"; "a motley crew"; "sundry sciences commonly known as social"- I.A.Richards assorted, miscellaneous, mixed, sundry heterogeneous, heterogenous - consisting of elements that are not of the same kind or nature; "the population of the United States is vast and heterogeneous"
	2.	motley - having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly; "a jester dressed in motley"; "the painted desert"; "a particolored dress"; "a piebald horse"; "pied daisies" multicolor, multi-color, multicolored, multi-colored, multicolour, multi-colour, multicoloured, multi-coloured, particolored, particoloured, piebald, pied, varicolored, varicoloured, calico, painted coloured, colorful - having color or a certain color; sometimes used in combination; "colored crepe paper"; "the film was in color"; "amber-colored heads of grain"

motley

adjective miscellaneous, mixed, varied, diversified, mingled, unlike, assorted, disparate, dissimilar, heterogeneous a motley collection of vans and old buses
miscellaneous, uniform, homogeneous

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

motley

adjective

1. Consisting of a number of different kinds:

assorted, divers, diverse, diversified, heterogeneous, miscellaneous, mixed, multifarious, multiform, sundry, varied, variegated, various.

Biology: polymorphic, polymorphous.

2. Having many different colors:

multicolor, multicolored, polychromatic, polychrome, polychromic, polychromous, varicolored, variegated, versicolor, versicolored.

Translations

eterogeneo

motley

[ˈmɒtlɪ]

A. ADJ (= many-coloured) → multicolor, abigarrado; (= ill-assorted) [collection, bunch] → variopinto
they were a motley crew → era una pandilla de lo más variopinto

B. N → botarga f, traje m de colores

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

motley

[ˈmɒtli] adj [collection] → hétéroclite motley crewmotley crew n (= odd assortment) [people] a motley crew → une drôle de bande
a motley crew of drifters → une bande de paumés en tout genre

motley

adj → kunterbunt; (= varied also) → bunt (gemischt); (= multicoloured also) → bunt (gescheckt)

n → Narrenkostüm or -kleid nt; on with the motley! → lache, Bajazzo!

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

motley

[ˈmɒtlɪ] adj (many-coloured) → variopinto/a; (mixed) → eterogeneo/a, molto vario/a
a motley crew → una banda eterogenea