VARIETY
diverseness, diversity, multifariousness, variety
(noun) noticeable heterogeneity; “a diversity of possibilities”; “the range and variety of his work is amazing”
variety, change
(noun) a difference that is usually pleasant; “he goes to France for variety”; “it is a refreshing change to meet a woman mechanic”
kind, sort, form, variety
(noun) a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality; “sculpture is a form of art”; “what kinds of desserts are there?”
variety
(noun) (biology) a taxonomic category consisting of members of a species that differ from others of the same species in minor but heritable characteristics; “varieties are frequently recognized in botany”
assortment, mixture, mixed bag, miscellany, miscellanea, variety, salmagundi, smorgasbord, potpourri, motley
(noun) 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”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
variety (countable and uncountable, plural varieties)
The quality of being varied; diversity.
Antonym: sameness
A specific variation of something.
A number of different things.
Synonyms: array, assortment
A state of constant change.
(taxonomy) A rank in a taxonomic classification, below species and subspecies.
(cybernetics) The total number of distinct states of a system.
(cybernetics) Logarithm of the base 2 of the total number of distinct states of a system.
(linguistics) A term used for a specific form of a language, neutral to whether that form is a dialect, accent, register, etc. and to its prestige level.
(algebra, esp. universal algebra) The class of all algebraic structures of a given signature satisfying a given set of identities.
The kind of theatrical entertainment given in variety shows.
The production of, or performance in, variety shows.
Synonyms
• (quality of being varied): See also nonuniformity
• (algebra, esp. universal algebra): equational variety
Hyponyms
• (specific variation of something): cultivar
Source: Wiktionary
Va*ri"e*ty, n.; pl. Varieties. Etym: [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.
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.
(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.
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. 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition