Va*ri"e*ty (?), n.; pl.
Varieties (#). [L. varietas: cf. F.
variété. See Various.]
1. The quality or state of being various;
intermixture or succession of different things; diversity;
multifariousness.
Variety is nothing else but a continued
novelty.
South.
The variety of colors depends upon the composition of
light.
Sir I. Newton.
For earth this variety from heaven.
Milton.
There is a variety in the tempers of good
men.
Atterbury.
2. That which is various. Specifically: --
(a) A number or collection of different things; a
varied assortment; as, a variety of cottons and silks.
He . . . wants more time to do that variety of good
which his soul thirsts after.
Law.
(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.
(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.
&fist; 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.
(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.
&fist; 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.
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.
Syn. -- Diversity; difference; kind. -- 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.
All sorts are here that all the earth yields!
Variety without end.
Milton.
But see in all corporeal nature's scene,
What changes, what diversities, have been!
Blackmore.
Va*ri"e*ty, n. (Theaters)
Such entertainment as in given in variety shows; the production
of, or performance in, variety shows. [Cant]
Va*ri"e*ty (?), n.; pl.
Varieties (#). [L. varietas: cf. F.
variété. See Various.]
1. The quality or state of being various;
intermixture or succession of different things; diversity;
multifariousness.
Variety is nothing else but a continued
novelty.
South.
The variety of colors depends upon the composition of
light.
Sir I. Newton.
For earth this variety from heaven.
Milton.
There is a variety in the tempers of good
men.
Atterbury.
2. That which is various. Specifically: --
(a) A number or collection of different things; a
varied assortment; as, a variety of cottons and silks.
He . . . wants more time to do that variety of good
which his soul thirsts after.
Law.
(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.
(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.
&fist; 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.
(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.
&fist; 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.
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.
Syn. -- Diversity; difference; kind. -- 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.
All sorts are here that all the earth yields!
Variety without end.
Milton.
But see in all corporeal nature's scene,
What changes, what diversities, have been!
Blackmore.
Va*ri"e*ty, n. (Theaters)
Such entertainment as in given in variety shows; the production
of, or performance in, variety shows. [Cant]
