pied

/paɪd/

/paɪd/

Other forms: piedly

Pied means colorfully jumbled. If you're looking at kittens, you may see solid black ones, solid white, or ones with lots of different patches of color. You'd call a patchy one pied.

Pied was first used to refer to magpies’ black and white plumage. Later, pied came to refer to an order of friars known for their black and white robes, and even later, pied came to refer to a jumble of typefaces in a printed document. Now, pied can indicate anything having two or more colors. Someone with multicolored articles of clothing can be said to be pied, as in the Pied Piper of Hamlin.

Definitions of pied

1. adjective

   having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly
   “pied daisies”

   synonyms: calico, motley, multi-color, multi-colored, multi-colour, multi-coloured, multicolor, multicolored, multicolour, multicoloured, painted, particolored, particoloured, piebald, varicolored, varicoloured

   colored, colorful, coloured

   having color or a certain color; sometimes used in combination