motley English · revision 2419

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɒtli/ ''(UK)''; /ˈmɑtli/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|motlei|t=variegated cloth; variegated]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) probably [[bor|xno|motteley]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) a word of uncertain origin.^(Etymonline) It is perhaps based on Middle English ''mot'' “speck”, the same word as [[mote]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) but other origins, including Gaulish, have been suggested.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Cloth woven of more than one colour (1371), and, as an adjective, particoloured (about 1380).^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Motley was a woollen fabric of mixed colours made in England from the 14th to the 17th century,^(MW Collegiate) and became the typical dress of the professional fool.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) By 1600 ''motley'' could mean the fool himself.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The figurative sense, “made up of diverse or incongruous elements”, is recorded of crowds by 1687 and of things by 1824,^(OED 1989) and is now the commonest use.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1371 – noun, cloth of mixed colours.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * about 1380 – adjective, particoloured.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1447 – verb, to make particoloured or diverse.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1600 – of a fool's dress; a fool.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1687 – of a crowd, made up of diverse kinds.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Made up of varied, often incongruous elements.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Having many colours; particoloured.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The particoloured costume of a court jester.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A jester; a fool.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An incongruous mixture.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mote]]

+ * [[mottled]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}