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variety definition

va·ri·ety (və rīə tē)

noun pl. varieties -·ties

  1. the state or quality of being various or varied; absence of monotony or sameness
  2. a different form of some thing, condition, or quality; sort; kind varieties of cloth
  3. a number of different things thought of together; collection of varied things a variety of items in the attic
  4. Brit. variety show
    1. Biol., loosely a group having characteristics of its own within a species or subspecies; subdivision of a species
    2. Bot. a variant form of wild plants that has been recognized as a true taxon ranking below subspecies, even though it may have been brought under cultivation: e.g., cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)
    3. Zool. any of a group of widely separated variants within a single interbreeding population

Etymology: Fr variété < L varietas

adjective

of or in a variety show

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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