medley
/ˈmɛdli/noun, verb
medley is spelled M-E-D-L-E-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, medley means “A collection or mixture of miscellaneous things” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of medley is medleys.
How many letters and syllables are in medley?
| Letters | 6: M-E-D-L-E-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 20,101st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is medley?
Medley appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 20,101st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce medley?
- UK /ˈmɛdli/
Medley has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-medley.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of medley
- medleys plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- medleying participle, present
- medleyed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does medley mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
archaicCombat, fighting; a battle.
- 2
A collection or mixture of miscellaneous things.
a fruit medley
- 3
A collection of related songs played or mixed together as a single piece.
They played a medley of favorite folk songs as an encore.
- 4
A competitive swimming event that combines the four strokes of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.
- 5
A cloth of mixed colours.
verb
- 1
To combine, to form a medley.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Medley in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | mélange, salade , pot-pourri , 4 nages |
| German | Allerlei, bunte Mischung, buntes Durcheinander , Medley, Potpourri, Melodienreigen |
| Spanish | batiburrillo, popurrí, revoltijo, mescolanza, miscelánea, amalgama |
| Portuguese | potpourri, pot-pourri , estilos, medley |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does medley come from?
From Middle English medle, from Anglo-Norman medlee, Old French medlee, from the feminine past participle of early Medieval Latin misculō (“to mix”). Compare meddle. Doublet of melee.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).