motley

adj

Etymology: From Middle English motle, from Anglo-Norman motteley (“parti-colored”), from Old English mot (“speck”). Doublet of mote. The English word can be analysed as mottle + -y.

1. Comprising greatly varied elements, to the point of incongruity.

   “I met a fool i' th' forest, / A motley' fool.”

   “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.

name

1. A surname.
2. A city in Morrison County and Cass County, Minnesota, United States.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English motle, from Anglo-Norman motteley (“parti-colored”), from Old English mot (“speck”). Doublet of mote. The English word can be analysed as mottle + -y.

1. An incongruous mixture.
2. A jester's multicoloured clothes.
3. A jester; a fool.

   “Wil you be married, Motley?”

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

verb

Etymology: From Middle English motle, from Anglo-Norman motteley (“parti-colored”), from Old English mot (“speck”). Doublet of mote. The English word can be analysed as mottle + -y.

1. To give something a patchwork appearance.
2. To make something multicolored, variegated, or diverse in character.