▪ I. medley, n. and a.
(ˈmɛdlɪ)
Forms: 4 medlay, 4–5 medlee, 4–5, 7 medle, 5 medele, 5–8 medly, (5 medely, 6 medleye), 6–7 medlie, 7–8 meddly, 5– medley.
[a. OF. medlee, var. of meslee (mod.F. mêlée: see mêlée):—vulgar L. type *misculāta, f. *misculāre to mix: see meddle v. Cf. Sp. mezclada, It. mescolata. The primary sense is thus ‘mixture’, but in Eng. the word occurs first in the sense of mingling in combat.]
A. n.
1. Combat, conflict; fighting, esp. hand-to-hand fighting between two parties of combatants. Now only arch. Cf. mellay, mêlée.
| 13.. K. Alis. 4612 His folk weore sone, in that medláy, Parforce y-dryven al away. Ibid. 6532 The olifans, in medlé, And theo lyouns he [the rinocertis] wol sle. 1340 Ayenb. 41 Huanne me makeþ medles ine cherche zuo þet þer ys blod yssed. 1470–85 Malory Arth. i. xv. 56 Lucas and Gwynas & bryaunte & Bellyas of Flaundrys helde strong medle ayenst vj kynges. 1490 Caxton Eneydos xi. 41 Ne seche nothyng but thyssue for to flee, yf there were ony medlee. 1586 Warner Alb. Eng. i. vi. 21 The medly ended, Hercules did bring the Centaure bound To Prison. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 197 When the warre was made in these poppulous countries..every man made one in the medle. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. vii. (1663) 19 Stepping before him with 2000 men, he cut off his way..in so much that the medly grew to be the same as it was before, and the fight was renewed. 1839 Thirlwall Greece III. 301 Cleon..sent all the men who survived the first medley..prisoners to Athens. 1862 Merivale Rom. Emp. (1865) V. xlii. 168 Broken by repeated defeats,..he was..less conspicuous in the medley. |
| fig. 1791 Burke App. Whigs Wks. 1808 VI. 26 In the press and medley of such extremities. |
2. A combination, mixture. † a. without disparaging sense. Obs.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 331/1 Medle, or mengynge to-gedur of dyuerse thyngys, mixtura. a 1529 Skelton Agst. Scottes 87 A medley to make of myrth with sadnes. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 9 b, This kinde of building hath an equall medlie of the winter windes and sommer windes. Ibid. 32 b, A medley of sundry sortes of seedes. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 501 He that shall set vines there..shall make an excellent medley between the temperature of that aire and the nature of soile together. 1626 Bacon Sylva §528 The Making of some Medley or Mixture of Earth, with some other Plants Bruised or Shauen. 1650 Fuller Pisgah iii. xii. 346 Graves and green herbs make a good medly seeing all flesh is grass. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 8 The Perfumers keep it..to mix among a variety of other Aromaticks, which is what we properly call a Medley. |
b. in disparaging sense: A heterogeneous combination or mixture (of things); a mixed company (of persons differing in rank, occupation, etc.).
| 1652–62 Heylin Cosmogr. iv. (1682) 5 An hochpot or medly of many nations. 1668–9 Pepys Diary 18 Jan., To the Duke of York's playhouse and there saw ‘The Witts’, a medley of things. 1683 T. Hoy Agathocles 5 A wretched Medley betwixt Priest and Layman. 1755 Smollett Quix. (1803) IV. 190 Leaving Don John and his companion astonished at the medley of sense and madness they had observed in his discourse. 1859 Reeve Brittany 236 A medley of shining brass pans, bellows, and tubs, are exposed for sale. 1865 Grote Plato II. xxiv. 256 Principles which are a medley between philosophy and rhetoric. 1879 Church Spenser 38 The Shepherd's Calendar,..an early medley of astrology and homely receipts. |
3. A cloth woven with wools of different colours or shades; = medley-cloth (see B. 4).
| 1438 E.E. Wills (1882) 111, 1 gowne of Russet medley. 1502 Privy Purse Exp. Eliz. of York (1830) 70 Item for making of a gowne of tawny medley. 1609 Stat. Laws Isle of Man (1821) 79 Every Woolen Weaver shall have..for every Yard of Medlie 1d. Qs. a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Wilts. iii. (1662) 143, I am informed that as Medleys are most made in other Shires, as good Whites as any are woven in this County. 1778 Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Frome-Selwood, The cloths made here for the most part, are medleys of 7 or 8s. a yard. 1851 Illustr. Catal. Exhib. I. 98/1, XII. Woollen and Worsted. A. Broad Cloths. 1...Medleys...N.B. The term ‘Medleys’ includes all Wool-dyed Colours, excepting Blue and Black. |
† 4. A ‘mixed’ colour. Obs. rare—0.
| 1499 Promp. Parv. 331/1 (Pynson), Medle[,] coloure, mixtura. 1530 Palsgr. 244/1 Medley[,] colour, mellé. 1556 Withals Dict. (1568) 34 b/2 Medley, color mixtus. |
† 5. = maslin1 1. Obs. rare. (Cf. B. 2.)
| 1601 Holland Pliny II. 487 The Corinthian medley. |
6. A musical composition consisting of parts or subjects of a diversified or incongruous character.
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §113 As when Galliard Time, and Measure Time, are in the Medley of one Dance. 1811 Busby Dict. Mus. (ed. 3), Medley... With the moderns, a medley is a humorous hotch-potch assemblage of the detached parts or passages of different well-known songs, so arranged that [etc.]. 1864 in Webster; and in later Dicts. |
7. As the title of a literary miscellany.
| ? 1630 M. P. (black-letter sheet), An excellent new Medley. ? 1640 ― A new Medley, or Messe of All-together. 1710 (title) The Medley. No. 1. Oct. 5. 1728–42 Pope Dunc. i. 42 Hence Journals, Medleys, Merc'ries, Magazines. 1826 (title) The Entertaining Medley; being a collection of true histories and anecdotes. |
B. adj.
† 1. Of a mixed colour; variegated, motley. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 328 (Ellesm.) He rood but hoomly in a medlee cote. 14.. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 597/7 Multicolor, Medle. c 1515 Cocke Lorell's B. 8 A ryche pal..Made of an old payre of blewe medly popley hosone. 1595 in Hist. MSS. Comm. (1894) XLVIII. 309 A tall man..wearing a medly russet mandilliane of red and blue, with..a pair of medley russet venetians. 1622 Hakewill David's Vow vii. 252 Hee would not haue his family like a motley cloth, or a meddly colour. 1681 W. Robertson Phraseol. Gen. (1693) 876 A medley colour; color mixtus. |
b. medley cloth: see quot. 1837.
| a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Wilts. iii. (1662) 158 And such a Medly-Cloth, is the Tale-story of this Clothier. 1712 Lond. Gaz. No. 5008/2 The Woollen Manufacture of Mixt or Medley Broad Cloath. 1769 De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. II. 25 These fine Spanish Medley Cloths are the mix'd coloured Cloths, which all the Persons of Fashion in England wear. 1837 Youatt Sheep vi. 222 What are now called medley-cloths, different coloured wools being mixed together in the thread... These..were first made in Gloucestershire. |
† 2. medley brass = maslin1. Obs. (Cf. A. 5.)
| 1600 Acc. Bk. W. Wray in Antiquary XXXII. 279 One medle brasse potte. |
3. Composed of diverse or incongruous parts or elements; mixed, motley.
| 1594 Nashe Terrors Night Wks. (Grosart) III. 229 A Medley kinde of licor called beere. 1597 J. King On Jonas (1599) 99 A garment of divers stuffes as of linnen and wollen, shall not come vpon thee... [May] such medly garments sit vpon the backes of our enemies. 1624 Wotton Archit. in Reliq. (1672) 58, I could wish such medly and motly Designs confined only to the Ornament of Freezes. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. vii. 167 A medly view (such as of water and land at Greenwich) best entertains the eyes. 1708 J. Philips Cyder ii. 55 This the Peasants blithe Will quaff, and whistle,..Pleas'd with the medly Draught. 1745 Eliza Heywood Female Spect. (1748) II. 288 That strange, squeaking, meddly thing of the doubtful gender, Mr. Mollman. 1798 Wordsw. Peter Bell i. xxiii, Of courage you saw little there, But, in its stead, a medley air Of cunning and of impudence. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xxiii, Who could do anything, from a medley dance to Lady Macbeth. 1878 Stubbs Const. Hist. III. xxi. 557 The medley multitude that held up their hands for or against the nominees of the hustings. |
b. in chance-medley, q.v.
4. Comb., as medley-coloured adj.
| 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. v. ii. §7. 8 As the Latine Poets describe them [the Britaines] hauing their backes pide or medlycoloured. 1701 Lond. Gaz. No. 3758/8 A brownish medly coloured streight Coat. |
▪ II. medley, v.
(ˈmɛdlɪ)
[f. medley n.]
trans. To make a medley or mixture of; to intermix. Chiefly in ˈmedleyed, ˈmedlied pa. pple. and ppl. a.
| c 1483 Caxton Dialogues 14/34 Clothes medleyed [F. draps mesles], Red cloth or grene [etc.]. 1657 W. Morice Coena quasi κοινή iii. 43 The common fate of men that compound and medly themselves to comply with several Interests. 1679 L. Addison Mahumedism xvi. 83 The things taught by Mahumed are so mixt and confused... And yet they are not more medly'd in themselves, than disadvantageously represented by Writers. 1710 Philips Pastorals iv. 8 Lo! here the King-Cup of a Golden Hue, Medley'd with Daisies white, and Endive blue. 1746 W. Horsley Fool (1748) II. 78 This Dish..was so odly medly'd, with Dutch, French, and Jacobite Materials, as to give universal Distaste. 1855 Singleton Virgil I. 297 And stones from stones asunder wrenched, and smoke Billowing with medlied dust. 1904 Blackw. Mag. July 87/1 Till we came to the medlied establishments of the native chiefs. |