[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

variety \vari"ety\, n.; pl. varieties. l. varietas: cf. f.
   vari'et'e. see various.
   1913 webster
   1. the quality or state of being various; intermixture or
      succession of different things; diversity;
      multifariousness.
      1913 webster

            variety is nothing else but a continued novelty.
                                                  --south.
      1913 webster

            the variety of colors depends upon the composition
            of light.                             --sir i.
                                                  newton.
      1913 webster

            for earth hath this variety from heaven. --milton.
      1913 webster

            there is a variety in the tempers of good men.
                                                  --atterbury.
      1913 webster

   2. that which is various. specifically: 
      1913 webster
      a a number or collection of different things; a varied
          assortment; as, a variety of cottons and silks.
          1913 webster

                he . . . wants more time to do that variety of
                good which his soul thirsts after. --law.
          1913 webster
      b something varying or differing from others of the same
          general kind; one of a number of things that are akin;
          a sort; as, varieties of wood, land, rocks, etc.
          1913 webster
      c biol. an individual, or group of individuals, of a
          species differing from the rest in some one or more of
          the characteristics typical of the species, and
          capable either of perpetuating itself for a period, or
          of being perpetuated by artificial means; hence, a
          subdivision, or peculiar form, of a species.
          1913 webster

   note: varieties usually differ from species in that any two,
         however unlike, will generally propagate indefinitely
         unless they are in their nature unfertile, as some
         varieties of rose and other cultivated plants; in
         being a result of climate, food, or other extrinsic
         conditions or influences, but generally by a sudden,
         rather than a gradual, development; and in tending in
         many cases to lose their distinctive peculiarities when
         the individuals are left to a state of nature, and
         especially if restored to the conditions that are
         natural to typical individuals of the species. many
         varieties of domesticated animals and of cultivated
         plants have been directly produced by man.
         1913 webster
      d in inorganic nature, one of those forms in which a
          species may occur, which differ in minor
          characteristics of structure, color, purity of
          composition, etc.
          1913 webster

   note: these may be viewed as variations from the typical
         species in its most perfect and purest form, or, as is
         more commonly the case, all the forms, including the
         latter, may rank as varieties. thus, the sapphire is a
         blue variety, and the ruby a red variety, of corundum;
         again, calcite has many varieties differing in form and
         structure, as iceland spar, dogtooth spar, satin spar,
         and also others characterized by the presence of small
         quantities of magnesia, iron, manganese, etc. still
         again, there are varieties of granite differing in
         structure, as graphic granite, porphyritic granite, and
         other varieties differing in composition, as albitic
         granite, hornblendic, or syenitic, granite, etc.
         1913 webster

   3. theaters such entertainment as in given in variety
      shows; the production of, or performance in, variety
      shows. cant
      webster 1913 suppl.

   geographical variety biol., a variety of any species
      which is coincident with a geographical region, and is
      usually dependent upon, or caused by, peculiarities of
      climate.

   variety hybrid biol., a cross between two individuals of
      different varieties of the same species; a mongrel.
      1913 webster

   syn: diversity; difference; kind.

   usage: variety, diversity. a man has a variety of
          employments when he does many things which are not a
          mere repetition of the same act; he has a diversity of
          employments when the several acts performed are unlike
          each other, that is, diverse. in most cases, where
          there is variety there will be more or less of
          diversity, but not always. one who sells railroad
          tickets performs a great variety of acts in a day,
          while there is but little diversity in his employment.
          1913 webster

                all sorts are here that all the earth yields
                variety without end.              --milton.
          1913 webster

                but see in all corporeal nature's scene,
                what changes, what diversities, have been
                                                  --blackmore.
          1913 webster
see also:
varieties various geographical variety variety hybrid variety diversity 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

variety
     n 1: a collection containing a variety of sorts of things; "a
          great assortment of cars was on display"; "he had a
          variety of disorders"; "a veritable smorgasbord of
          religions" syn: assortment, mixture, mixed bag, miscellany,
           miscellanea, salmagundi, smorgasbord, potpourri,
           motley
     2: noticeable heterogeneity; "a diversity of possibilities";
        "the range and variety of his work is amazing" syn: diverseness,
         diversity, multifariousness
     3: biology a taxonomic category consisting of members of a
        species that differe from others of the same species in
        minor but heritable characteristics; "varieties are
        frequently recognized in botany"
     4: a show consisting of a series of short unrelated
        performances syn: variety show
     5: a category of things distinguished by some common
        characteristic or quality; "sculpture is a form of art";
        "what kinds of desserts are there?" syn: kind, sort,
        form
     6: a difference that is usually pleasant; "he goes to france
        for variety"; "it is a refreshing change to meet a woman
        mechanic" syn: change
see also:
assortment mixture mixed bag miscellany miscellanea salmagundi 
smorgasbord potpourri motley diverseness diversity 
multifariousness variety show kind sort form 
change 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

302 moby thesaurus words for "variety":
   broadway, proteus, a certain number, a few, about-face,
   accommodation, adaptation, adjustment, affiliation, allotropism,
   allotropy, alteration, amelioration, apostasy, assortment,
   betterment, biotype, blood, body, branch, brand, break, breed,
   burlesque, capriciousness, cast, category, change, change of heart,
   changeability, changeableness, character, choice, choppiness,
   church, circus, clan, class, classification, collectanea,
   collection, color, communion, community, conglomerate,
   conglomeration, constructive change, continuity, contrariety,
   contrast, conversion, dappleness, defection, degeneration,
   degenerative change, denomination, departure, description,
   designation, desultoriness, deterioration, deviability, deviation,
   difference, differentiation, disaccord, disaccordance,
   disagreement, disconformity, discongruity, discontinuity,
   discordance, discrepancy, discreteness, disorder, disparity,
   dissent, dissimilarity, dissonance, distinction, distinctness,
   divarication, divergence, divergency, diversification, diversion,
   diversity, division, drama, eccentricity, entertainment industry,
   erraticism, faction, family, far cry, feather, fellowship,
   fickleness, fitting, flightiness, flip-flop, form, freakishness,
   genotype, genre, genus, grade, gradual change, grain, group,
   her infinite variety, heterogeneity, heteromorphism, hodgepodge,
   ilk, improvement, impulsiveness, inaccordance, incompatibility,
   incongruity, inconsistency, inconsonance, inconstancy, inequality,
   inharmoniousness, inharmony, instability, irreconcilability,
   irregularity, jerkiness, kidney, kin, kind, kingdom, label, legit,
   legitimate stage, line, lot, make, manifoldness, manner, mark,
   medley, melioration, mercuriality, miscellanea, miscellany,
   mitigation, mix, mixture, modification, modulation, mold,
   moodiness, more, motleyness, multifariousness, multiformity,
   multiplicity, mutability, nature, nonconformism, nonconformity,
   nonstandardization, nonuniformity, nonuniqueness, number,
   numerousness, oddments, odds, odds and ends, off broadway,
   off-off-broadway, offshoot, omnifariousness, omniformity,
   omnium-gatherum, opposition, order, organization, otherness,
   overthrow, party, persuasion, phylum, playland, pluralism,
   plurality, pluralness, polymorphism, qualification, race,
   radical change, raggedness, range, rank, re-creation, realignment,
   redesign, reform, reformation, religious order, remaking, renewal,
   repertory drama, reshaping, restlessness, restructuring, reversal,
   revival, revivification, revolution, schism, school, sect,
   sectarism, section, segment, selection, separateness, series,
   several, shape, shapeshifter, shift, shiftiness, show biz,
   show business, society, sort, species, stage world, stagedom,
   stageland, stamp, stock, strain, strawhat, strawhat circuit,
   stripe, style, subclass, subfamily, subgenus, subkingdom, suborder,
   subspecies, subtribe, sudden change, summer stock, sundries,
   superclass, superfamily, superorder, superspecies, switch,
   the boards, the footlights, the like of, the likes of, the scenes,
   the stage, the theater, theater world, theatromania, theatrophobia,
   total change, transition, tribe, turn, turnabout, type,
   uncertainty, unconformism, unconformity, undependability,
   unevenness, unfixedness, unlikeness, unorthodoxy, unpredictability,
   unreliability, unsettledness, unstableness, unsteadfastness,
   unsteadiness, upheaval, variability, variance, variation,
   variegation, variousness, vaudeville, versatility, version,
   violent change, wantonness, wavering, waywardness, whimsicality,
   worsening

Variety >> V Words
Variety, definition of term: Variety
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