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motley

 
Dictionary: mot·ley   (mŏt') pronunciation
adj.
  1. Having elements of great variety or incongruity; heterogeneous: "Most Ivy League freshman classes are chosen from a motley collection of constituencies . . . and a bare majority of entering students can honestly be called scholars" (New York Times).
  2. Having many colors; variegated; parti-colored: a motley tunic.
n., pl., -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.]


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Motley, costume designers. Founded in the early 1930s in London by Audrey Sophia Harris, Margaret F. Harris, and Elizabeth Montgomery, the company designed clothes for West End shows for a decade before beginning to offer their work to Americans in 1941. Among the plays that featured their costume designs were A Bell for Adano (1944), Anne of the Thousand Days (1948), South Pacific (1949), Can‐Can (1953), Peter Pan (1954), Middle of the Night (1956), The Most Happy Fella (1956), and Long Day's Journey into Night (1956).

Antonyms: motley
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adj

Definition: mixed, varied
Antonyms: homogenous, like, same, similar, uniform, unmixed, unvaried


Wikipedia: Motley
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Harlequin in motley attire, year 1761 by Maurice Sand

Motley refers to the traditional costume of the court jester or the harlequin character in commedia dell'arte. The latter wears a patchwork of red, green and blue diamonds that is still a fashion motif.

The word motley is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as a cognate with medley, although the unrelated mottled has also contributed to the meaning. The word is most commonly used as an adjective or noun, but is also seen as a verb and adverb. When used as a noun, it can mean "a varied mixture."

The word originated in England between the 14th and 17th centuries and referred to a woolen fabric of mixed colors.[1] It was the characteristic dress of the professional fool. During the reign of Elizabeth I, motley served the important purpose of keeping the fool outside the social hierarchy and therefore not subject to class distinction. Since the fool was outside the dress laws (sumptuary law), the fool was able to speak more freely.

Likewise, motley did not have to be checkered and has been recently thought to be one pattern with different colored threads running through it.

“Motley is the only wear.”
--Shakespeare: As You Like It, ii. 7.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Apparel Search Glossary "Motley." Retrieved on: December 4, 2007.

External links

  • National Guild of Jesters (UK) Hall of Fame. Various examples of motley.

Translations: Motley
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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - spraglet, broget
n. - broget blanding

Nederlands (Dutch)
bont, bonte mengeling, nar(renpak)

Français (French)
adj. - bariolé
n. - habit bariolé du bouffon

Deutsch (German)
adj. - bunt
n. - Narrenkostüm, Durcheinander

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - παρδαλός, ετερογενής, ποικίλος, πολύχρωμος, ετερόκλητος

Italiano (Italian)
variopinto

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - heterogêneo, estampado (tecido)

Русский (Russian)
всякая всячина, пестрый, разнородный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - abigarrado, multicolor, variado, diversificado
n. - abigarramiento, mescolanza

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - brokig

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
杂色的, 斑驳的, 混杂的, 杂多的, 杂色, 混杂, 杂色衣服

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 雜色的, 斑駁的, 混雜的, 雜多的
n. - 雜色, 混雜, 雜色衣服

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 잡다한, 얼룩얼룩한
n. - 광대, 얼룩얼룩한 옷

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 雑多な, まだらの, 雑多の, 混成の, 雑色の
n. - まだら服, まだら

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) تشكيله, خليط‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮מגוון, מעורב‬
n. - ‮תערובת מגוונת, תלבושת ליצן (מיושן)‬


 
 
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Mottley (family name)
canonicals
blusterous

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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