different between motley vs pied

English

Etymology

From Middle English motle, from Anglo-Norman motteley (“parti-colored”), late 14th c., from Old English mot (“speck”), cognate with mote.

Equivalent to mottle +? -y

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?tli/

Adjective

motley (comparative more motley or motlier, superlative most motley or motliest)

1. Comprising greatly varied elements, to the point of incongruity.

   Synonyms: heterogeneous, diverse, manifold; see also Thesaurus:heterogeneous
2. Having many colours; variegated.

   Synonyms: colorful, prismatic, variegated; see also Thesaurus:multicolored

Derived terms

• motley crew

Translations

Noun

motley (plural motleys)

1. An incongruous mixture.
2. A jester's multicoloured clothes.
3. (by extension) A jester; a fool.

Translations

Anagrams

• etymol.

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa?d/
• Rhymes: -a?d

Etymology 1

From magpie.

Adjective

pied (comparative more pied, superlative most pied)

1. Having two or more colors, especially black and white.

   Synonyms: nun-coloured, particoloured, piebald

2. Decorated or colored in blotches.

   • pied coats

Derived terms

Translations

References

• pied at OneLook Dictionary Search

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

pied

1. simple past tense and past participle of pi

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

pied

1. simple past tense and past participle of pie

Anagrams

• Diep, Pedi, pedi, pedi-, pide

French

Etymology

From Middle French pied, from Old French pié, from Latin pedem, accusative of pes. The <-d> is a later orthographical addition based on etymology. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *p?ds. Compare Catalan peu, Italian piede, Latvian p?da, Lithuanian p?da, Portuguese pé, Sardinian pei, Spanish pie.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pje/

Noun

pied m (plural pieds)

1. (anatomy) foot

   Synonyms: (slang) panard, (informal) peton

2. leg, foot (projection on the bottom of a piece of equipment to support it)
3. An old unit of measure equal to 32.5 centimetres
4. (Quebec, etc.) Translation for English foot (approx. 30.5 centimetres)
5. (poetry) foot

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• “pied” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle French

Alternative forms

• pié

Etymology

From Old French pié.

Noun

pied m (plural pieds)

1. foot

Descendants

• French: pied

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from French pied.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pi?ed/

Noun

pied (nominative plural pieds)

1. (unit of measure) foot

Declension