Motley

WORD OF THE DAY

motley / adjective / MAHT-lee

Definition
1: variegated in color
2: made up of many different people or things
3: a woolen fabric of mixed colors made in England between the 14th and 17th centuries
4a: a garment made of motley
4b: the characteristic dress of the professional fool
5: jester, fool
6: a mixture especially of incongruous elements

Examples
"As evidenced by Burmese pythons and ubiquitous iguanas, there’s a motley roster of nonnative reptile species surviving in Florida—three times the amount of indigenous species—but there are two in particular that are on the rise."
— Bill Kearney, The South Florida Sun Sentinel, 12 Aug. 2022

Megan’s second studio album, Traumazine, is a thrill ride of a listen, a motley mix of slick bops and searing confessionals that wonderfully encapsulate all of her various vibes.
— Will Dukes, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2022

Did You Know?
The word motley wears many colorful hats, each having a distinct use.
As an adjective it implies variety, be it in hues or humans.
As a noun it can identify an eclectic variety, a multicolored fabric, a garment made from such a fabric, or the jester known for wearing such garments in the European courts of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
The word's origin is unknown, but some etymologists suspect that Middle English mot, meaning "mote" or "speck," may be its source.
There may be a speck of truth to that. Surely, etymologists (and lexicographers) don’t jest.