motley [LME] The word motley originally described a fabric woven from different-coloured threads, and was later extended to refer to the multicoloured costume traditionally worn by a court jester [L16th]. To wear motley is to play the fool, and a motley fool is a professional jester. On with the motley is a quote from the English translation of Leoncavello’s 1892 opera Pagliacci, about the real-life troubles of a group of comic actors, while motley crew was in use of a mixed bunch of sailors by the mid 18th century. Mottle was formed in the early 17th century from motley.