Definition of medley

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< Med. Lat.

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med·ley    (mdl) KEY 

NOUN:
pl. med·leys

1. 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).
2. Music An arrangement made from a series of melodies, often from various sources.
3. 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.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English medlee, from Anglo-Norman medlee, meddling, from past participle of medler, to meddle ; see meddle