variety

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A deviation or difference.

   “The difference, therefore, in theſe animals, ariſes rather from their habits than their confirmation; and, upon examination, there will be leſs variety found betvween them than between birds that live upon land, and thoſe that ſwim upon the water.”

2. (countable, uncountable)A specific variation of something.

   “The ſpirit of that competition burns / With all varieties of ill by turns, / Each vainly magnifies his own ſucceſs, / Reſents his fellows, wiſhes it were leſs, […]”

   “Yet the task of composing dramatic varieties, of training players, and deliberating in the theatrical senate, or even of expressing philosophically his opinions on these points, could not wholly occupy such a mind as his.”

   “In some respects he [Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon] was well fitted for his great place. […] No man was better acquainted with general maxims of statecraft. No man observed the varieties of character with a more discriminating eye.”

3. (broadly, countable, uncountable)A specific variation of something.

   “Many more ſorts of varieties of theſe kindes [of Aconitum anthora] there are, but theſe onely, as the moſt ſpecious, are nourſed vp in Floriſts Gardens for pleaſure; the other are kept by ſuch as are Catholicke obſeruers of all natures ſtore.”

   “But of all theſe varieties of Roſes, the beſt and moſt eſtemed amongſt the Red, are thoſe called the Roſe of the VVorld, the Red Belgick, the Red Marble, the Roſe vvithout Thorns, and the Red Provence Roſe.”

   “When we look to the individuals of the same variety or sub-variety of our older cultivated plants and animals, one of the first points which strikes us, is, that they generally differ much more from each other, than do the individuals of any one species or variety in a state of nature.”

   “Jim is a nurseryman, specialising in clematis, and he has built up a business exporting 150 varieties to countries all over the world.”

4. (broadly, countable, uncountable)A specific variation of something.

   “Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum is a variety of Capsicum annuum commonly known as chiltepin or Indian pepper.”

5. (countable, uncountable)A specific variation of something.

   “Near-synonym: dialect (sometimes synonymous)”

   “The mere existence of a dictionary of a certain variety of English does not automatically confer acceptance of that variety.”

6. (countable, uncountable)A specific variation of something.
7. (countable, uncountable)A collection or number of different things.

   “But nether in this maner, nor any other particular procedyng, can we ſufficiently direct yow: but, notyng unto yow the generalitees of our deſyre, referr yow to apply your doings to the varieté and occurrency of thyngs there.”

   “And in this may receiue ſome immediate benefit, if by contemplation, hee behold the varietie of temporary bleſſings, no part in the Vniuerſe exceeding theſe, not vvith-held from Pagan people afforded by Gods al-knovving and guiding Prouidence, vvhich notvvithſtanding being mixt vvith vnthankfulneſſe, damnable Idolatry, and variety of carnall obiects turne to their greater diſtruction, and endleſſe miſeries.”

   “In other parts of the ſea are ſeen ſponges of various magnitude, and extraordinary appearances, aſſuming a variety of phantaſtic forms like large muſhrooms, mitres, fonts, and flovver-pots.”

   “One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.”

   “In his first book since the 2008 essay collection Natural Acts: A Sidelong View of Science and Nature, David Quammen looks at the natural world from yet another angle: the search for the next human pandemic, what epidemiologists call “the next big one.” His quest leads him around the world to study a variety of suspect zoonoses—animal-hosted pathogens that infect humans.”

8. (countable, uncountable)A collection or number of different things.
9. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable)A collection or number of different things.
10. (countable, uncountable)A collection or number of different things.
11. (abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable)Ellipsis of variety performance or variety show (“a type of entertainment featuring a succession of short, unrelated performances by various artistes such as (depending on the medium) acrobats, comedians, dancers, magicians, singers, etc.”).
12. (countable, uncountable)The quality of being varied; diversity.

    “Variety is the spice of life.”

    “Nor is our body made of one parte onely, but of manye and diuerſe. […] The diuers placyng and vſe is not to the member reprochful, but this varietie rather apertayneth to the welth of the whole body.”

    “Age cannot vvither her, nor cuſtome ſtale / Her infinite variety: […]”

    “And ſhe [Nature] affects ſo much to uſe / Variety, in all ſhe does.”

    “Variety’s the very ſpice of life / That gives it all its flavor.”

13. (countable, uncountable)The kind of entertainment given in variety performances or shows; also, the production of, or performance in, variety performances or shows.