What does "motley" mean?
Motley: Wearing motley or party-colored clothing. See Motley, n., 1. "A motley fool." Shak.
Additional senses
- 2.Composed of different or various parts; heterogeneously made or mixed up; discordantly composite; as, motley style. Byron.
- 3.A combination of distinct colors; esp., the party-colored cloth, or clothing, worn by the professional fool. Chaucer. "Motley 's the only wear." Shak.
- 4.Hence, a jester, a fool. [Obs.] Shak. Man of motley, a fool. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00