- 1混雜的、五花八門的（常說 a motley crew：成員雜湊的一群人）
Motley describes a group of people or things that are all different kinds, and that do not look as if they belong in one set. The famous phrase is a motley crew: a mixed bunch, not a matching team. The feeling is a little messy and a little colourful — not usually a compliment if you wanted a neat, professional group, but not always an insult either; it can sound fond, like “what a mixed lot we are.” The word is a bit old and story-like; you will not hear it every day on the bus. Though actually, it started as a word for cloth of many colours, the kind a court wore. From “many colours on one coat” it grew into “many kinds in one group.” So when writers say motley, they still half-see the patchwork.
組成From Middle English motle, from Anglo-Norman motteley “of many colours,” from Old English mot “a speck.” It is a twin of mote. You can also see it as mottle + -y.
同家族的字
- motethe older twin: a tiny speck
- mottlespotted markings; motley can be read as mottle + -y
原始詞典資料9 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
Motleyname
- 1
A surname.
- 2
A city in Morrison County and Cass County, Minnesota, United States.
motleyadj/ˈmɒtli/
- 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.
motleynoun/ˈmɒtli/
- 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, […]
motleyverb/ˈmɒtli/
- 1
To give something a patchwork appearance.
- 2
To make something multicolored, variegated, or diverse in character.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。