Motley

7 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Motley \Mot"ley\, a. [OE. mottelee, motle; cf. OF. mattel['e]
     clotted, curdled, OF, ciel mattonn['e] a mottled sky, mate,
     maton, curdled milk, Prov. G. matte curd. Cf. {Mottle}.]
     1. Variegated in color; consisting of different colors;
        dappled; party-colored; as, a motley coat.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. Wearing motley or party-colored clothing. See {Motley},
        n., 1. "A motley fool." --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Composed of different or various parts; heterogeneously
        made or mixed up; discordantly composite; as, motley
        style. --Byron.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Motley \Mot"ley\, n.
     1. A combination of distinct colors; esp., the party-colored
        cloth, or clothing, worn by the professional fool.
        --Chaucer. "Motley 's the only wear." --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Hence, a jester, a fool. [Obs.] --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Man of motley}, a fool. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  motley
       adj 1: consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds
              (even to the point of incongruity); "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 [syn: {assorted}, {miscellaneous}, {mixed},
               {sundry(a)}]
       2: 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" [syn: {calico}, {multicolor}, {multicolour}, {multicolored},
           {multicoloured}, {painted}, {particolored}, {particoloured},
           {piebald}, {pied}, {varicolored}, {varicoloured}]
       n 1: 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" [syn: {assortment}, {mixture}, {mixed bag}, {miscellany},
             {miscellanea}, {variety}, {salmagundi}, {smorgasbord},
            {potpourri}]
       2: a garment made of motley (especially a court jester's
          costume)
       3: a multicolored woolen fabric woven of mixed threads in 14th
          to 17th century England
       v 1: make something more diverse and varied; "Vary the menu"
            [syn: {vary}, {variegate}]
       2: make motley; color with different colors [syn: {parti-color}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  265 Moby Thesaurus words for "motley":
     Columbine, Hanswurst, Harlequin, Pantalone, Pantaloon,
     Polichinelle, Pulcinella, Punch, Punchinello, Scaramouch,
     amalgamated, ambiguous, ambivalent, amphibious, assorted,
     assortment, at odds, at variance, ballet skirt, band, bar,
     bespangle, bespeckle, bespot, bicolor, bicolored, bladder, blended,
     blotch, buffo, buffoon, buskin, calico, cap and bells, capricious,
     changeable, changing, check, checker, choppy, chromatic, clouded,
     clown, cold, colluvies, colorful, colorific, coloring, colory,
     combined, complex, composite, compound, compounded, conglomerate,
     contrary, contrasted, contrasting, cool, costume, coxcomb, crazy,
     daedal, dapple, dappled, departing, deviating, deviative,
     deviatory, dichromatic, different, differentiated, differing,
     disaccordant, disagreeing, discolor, discordant, discrepant,
     discrete, discriminated, disguise, disjoined, disorderly,
     disparate, dissimilar, dissonant, distinct, distinguished,
     divaricate, divergent, diverging, divers, divers-colored, diverse,
     diversified, diversiform, dot, eclectic, equivocal, erose, erratic,
     fifty-fifty, flake, fleck, fool, freckle, gallimaufry, getup,
     glowing, half-and-half, harlequin, harmonious, heterogeneous,
     hodgepodge, idiot, impulsive, in disagreement, inaccordant,
     incompatible, incongruous, inconsistent, inconsonant, inconstant,
     indiscriminate, inharmonious, intricate, iris, ironic,
     irreconcilable, irregular, jack-pudding, jagged, jerky, jester,
     jumble, jumbled, kaleidoscopic, maculate, many, many-colored,
     many-sided, marble, marbled, marbleize, masquerade, matching,
     medley, mercurial, merry-andrew, mingled, miscellaneous, mixed,
     monochromatic, monochrome, monochromic, motley fool, mottle,
     mottled, multicolor, multicolored, multicolorous, multifaceted,
     multifarious, multihued, multinational, multiracial, mutable,
     nonconformist, nonstandard, nonuniform, omnium-gatherum, outfit,
     parti-color, parti-colored, pastiche, patchy, pepper,
     pepper-and-salt, pickle-herring, piebald, pied, pigmentary, pinto,
     pluralistic, poles apart, poles asunder, polychromatic, polychrome,
     polychromic, polychromize, prismal, prismatic, promiscuous, ragged,
     rainbow, rig, rough, salad, scrambled, separate, separated,
     several, shot, shot through, skewbald, slapstick, sock, spangle,
     spasmodic, speck, speckle, spectral, splotch, sporadic, spot,
     sprinkle, stigmatize, stipple, streak, striate, stripe, stud,
     syncretic, tattoo, tessellate, thrown together,
     thunder and lightning, tights, tinctorial, tingent, toning,
     trichromatic, trichromic, tricolor, tricolored, tutu, two-tone,
     unconformable, uncongenial, unequable, unequal, uneven, unlike,
     unorthodox, unstable, unsteady, unsystematic, ununiform, variable,
     variant, varicolored, varied, variegate, variegated, variform,
     various, varying, vein, versicolor, versicolored, warm, wavering,
     widely apart, worlds apart, zany
  
  

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Motley, MN (city, FIPS 44422)
    Location: 46.33566 N, 94.64325 W
    Population (1990): 441 (219 housing units)
    Area: 3.2 sq km (land), 0.2 sq km (water)

From U.S. Gazetteer Counties (2000) [gaz-county]:

  Motley -- U.S. County in Texas
     Population (2000):    1426
     Housing Units (2000): 839
     Land area (2000):     989.377882 sq. miles (2562.476841 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.430342 sq. miles (1.114580 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    989.808224 sq. miles (2563.591421 sq. km)
     Located within:       Texas (TX), FIPS 48
     Location:             34.084808 N, 100.789688 W
     Headwords:
      Motley
      Motley, TX
      Motley County
      Motley County, TX
  

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Motley, MN -- U.S. city in Minnesota
     Population (2000):    585
     Housing Units (2000): 270
     Land area (2000):     1.321566 sq. miles (3.422839 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.067839 sq. miles (0.175703 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    1.389405 sq. miles (3.598542 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            44422
     Located within:       Minnesota (MN), FIPS 27
     Location:             46.335089 N, 94.645866 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):    
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Motley, MN
      Motley