medley

The definition of a medley is a combination of things, or a number of songs or tunes combined to create one piece.

(noun)

An example of a medley is a fruit bowl with oranges, bananas, limes and kiwi fruit.
An example of a medley is a song stringing together the choruses from Madonna's top ten hits.

Medley is defined as a race within a swim competition where the swimmer does four different styles of swimming in equal distances.

(noun)

An example of a medley is the 2004 Summer Olympics event for which Michael Phelps won the gold metal in both the 200 and 400 meter individual events.

See medley in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun pl. medleys

a mixture of things not usually placed together; heterogeneous collection; hodgepodge
a musical piece made up of tunes or passages from various works
Archaic melee

Origin: ME medle < OFr medlee, a mixing < fem. pp. of medler: see meddle

adjective

Archaic made up of heterogeneous parts

See medley in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun 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.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English medlee

Origin: , from Anglo-Norman medlee, meddling

Origin: , from

Origin: past participle of medler, to meddle; see meddle

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