What does motley mean dictionary?
In old English, the word “ motley has a meaning similar to the modern word “ragged”—a person or thing looking disheveled or shabby. The word was used to describe the clothing of people who gathered in the guilds, trades, and corporations of early medieval England. They often wore patches or pieces of various colors, which is where the word “motley” comes from.
What does motley mean in English?
The definition of the word motley is a word that refers to a person or group of people who are “mixed up,” that is, more than one person of different social and ethnic backgrounds. This implies that the word motley is an example of onomatopoeic or sound-based wordplay. The word sounds like the noise made by a group of unrelated people, perhaps people who are quarreling or fighting.
What does motley mean in English slang?
The term motley originally referred to the clothes worn by a jester. Later it came to be used to describe a group of people wearing different clothes and thus “motley” or “variegated.” In England, it was also used for a group of lawyers and anyone else who worked for the state.
What does word motley mean in Spanish?
The word motley originally referred to a pilgrim’s attire. They wore clothes that were patched together, and the word motley eventually came to mean “odd,” “unusual,” or “various.”
What does motley mean in Chinese?
The meaning of motley is different in different languages. In English, motley refers to a jumbled mixture of colors. The use of the word to describe dress dates back to the Middle Ages. It was used to describe clothing that was made cheaply out of patches of different colors.