First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
1medley
noun med·ley \ˈmed-lē\
: a musical piece made up of parts of other musical works
: a mixture of different people or things
sports : a race in swimming in which swimmers use a different stroke for each different part of the race
plural medleys
Full Definition of MEDLEY
1
archaic : melee
2
: a diverse assortment or mixture; especially : hodgepodge
3
: a musical composition made up of a series of songs or short pieces
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Origin of MEDLEY
Middle English medle, from Anglo-French medlee, from feminine of medlé, past participle of medler to mix — more at meddle
Related to MEDLEY
- Synonyms
- agglomerate, agglomeration, alphabet soup, assortment, botch, clutter, collage, crazy quilt, farrago, gallimaufry, grab bag, gumbo, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, jambalaya, jumble, jungle, litter, macédoine, miscellany, mélange, menagerie, miscellanea, mishmash, mixed bag, montage, motley, muddle, olio, olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, pastiche, patchwork, patchwork quilt, potpourri, ragbag, ragout, rummage, salad, salmagundi, scramble, shuffle, smorgasbord, stew, tumble, variety, welter
Other Music Terms
2medley
adjective
MEDLEYS Defined for Kids
medley
noun med·ley \ˈmed-lē\
plural medleys
Definition of MEDLEY for Kids
2
: a musical selection made up of a series of different songs or parts of different compositions
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