English

Noun

medley ‎(plural medleys)

1. (now rare, archaic) Combat, fighting; a battle. [from 14^thc.]
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter lxxj, in Le Morte Darthur, book X:

     Thenne came the kyng of Irland and the kynge of the stryete marches to rescowe syre Tristram and sire Palomydes / There beganne a grete medle / & many knyghtes were smyten doune on bothe partyes / and alweyes sir launcelot spared sir Tristram / and he spared hym

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Holland to this entry?)

2. A collection or mixture of miscellaneous things. [from 17^thc.]

   a fruit medley

   • Addison

     this medley of philosophy and war

   • W. Walsh

     Love is a medley of endearments, jars, / Suspicions, reconcilements, wars.

3. (music) A collection of related songs played or mixed together as a single piece. [from 17^thc.]

   They played a medley of favorite folk songs as an encore.

4. (swimming) A competitive swimming event that combines the four strokes of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. [from 20th c.]
5. A cloth of mixed colours.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Fuller to this entry?)

Related terms

• meddle
• melee

Synonyms

• mashup

Translations

Verb

medley ‎(third-person singular simple present medleys, present participle medleying, simple past and past participle medleyed)

1. (music) To combine, to form a medley.

Anagrams

• yelmed

Danish

Etymology

Borrowing from English medley.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛdli/, [ˈmɛd̥li]

Noun

medley n (singular definite medleyet, plural indefinite medleyer)

1. medley (of songs; swimming event)

   Carola sang et medley af "Fame" og "Flashdance" ved koncerten.‎

   Carola sang a medley of "Fame" and "Flashdance" at the concert.

Inflection

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: med‧ley

Etymology

Borrowing from English medley.

Noun

medley m ‎(plural medleys, diminutive medleytje n)

1. several songs strung together.

Synonyms

• potpourri