(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.
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.
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*form (?), a. [L. varius various + -form.] Having different shapes
or forms.
Va"ri*formed (?), a. Formed with different shapes; having various
forms; variform.
Va"ri*fy (?), v. t. [L. varius various + -fly.] To make different; to
vary; to variegate. [R.] Sylvester.
Va*ri"o*la (?), n. [LL., fr. L. varius various. See Various.] (Med.)
The smallpox.
Va*ri"o*lar (?), a. (Med.) Variolous.
Va`ri*o*la"tion (?), n. (Med.) Inoculation with smallpox.
Va`ri*ol"ic (?), a. (Med.) Variolous.
Va"ri*o*lite (?), n. [L. varius various + -lite: cf. F. variolite.]
(Geol.) A kind of diorite or diabase containing imbedded whitish
spherules, which give the rock a spotted appearance.