medley

med·ley   (měd'lē)    n.   pl. med·leys An often jumbled assortment; a mixture: "That night he dreamed he was traveling in a foreign country, only it seemed to be a medley of all the countries he'd ever been to and even some he hadn't" (Anne Tyler). Music An arrangement made from a series of melodies, often from various sources. Sports An event in competitive swimming in which backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle are swum in equal distances by an individual or as divisions of a relay race. [Middle English medlee, from Anglo-Norman medlee, meddling, from past participle of medler, to meddle; see meddle.]

Medley

Med"ley\, n.; pl. Medleys. [OE. medlee, OF. mesl['e]e, medl['e]e, mell['e]e, F. m[^e]l['e]e. See Meddle, and cf. Mel['E]e, Mellay.]

1. A mixture; a mingled and confused mass of ingredients, usually inharmonious; a jumble; a hodgepodge; -- often used contemptuously.

This medley of philosophy and war. --Addison.

Love is a medley of endearments, jars, Suspicions, reconcilements, wars. --W. Walsh.

2. The confusion of a hand to hand battle; a brisk, hand to hand engagement; a m[^e]l['e]e. [Obs.] --Holland.

3. (Mus.) A composition of passages detached from several different compositions; a potpourri.

Note: Medley is usually applied to vocal, potpourri to instrumental, compositions.

4. A cloth of mixed colors. --Fuller.

medley