Two frequently used adjectives to express diversity in the English language are various and varied. Are they interchangeable? Do you have an instinctive grasp of the times one term is preferable over the other term? If so, could you explain why? After all, both words have the same root word, vary. Why would I say my interests are varied rather than saying my interests are various? Does it simply roll off the tongue more easily, or is there a deeper, more linguistic reason? My initial research led me to believe that various expresses both "difference" and "multiplicity," while varied expresses only "difference" and "change." However, this ultimately proved meaningless. To have difference automatically implies having more than one; there must be difference between two things. And to express that something varies is to express diversity, or "change" from one item to the next.
I like to turn to the etymonline dictionary when I have questions about the ultimate meaning of a word. The history of the root word vary is the following:
mid-14c. (transitive); late 14c. (intransitive), from Old French variier "be changed, go astray; change, alter, transform" and directly from Latin variare "change, alter, make different," from varius "varied, different, spotted;" perhaps related to varus "bent, crooked, knock-kneed," and varix "varicose vein," and, more distantly, to Old English wearte "wart," Swedish varbulde "pus swelling," Latin verruca"wart." Related: Varied; varying.
We go from Old French back to our ancient source, which is Latin. But has this helped us answer our question? The answer is no, because the root, vary (or varius), is the same. Etymonline has simply proved a fun diversion. Let's look at it again, however, with the root meaning of varius in mind. The most primal, least abstract definition here is "spotted." It's also the most interesting definition. Think of a Dalmation. There is an assortment of colors, but that assortment contains only two colors. Still, the colors vary, because there are two. Does this prove my point that varied and various are used differently? The answer here, is also no. I am simply having fun with etymology yet again.
Does varied express difference, but with a certain flow? Varied is also a verb. In its verb form, it expresses time. It is the past tense of vary. Grammatical questions varied in the past. Grammatical questions are varied in the present. There is no way to express various as a past tense; it only works in the present. However, this is also irrelevant.
The two words are adjectival, with different endings, -ed and -ous. Herein lies the rub. Perhaps various suggests an assortment, such as a collection of interests that are deeply unalike (tennis, photography, libraries, building treehouses). This disparity exists even if there are only two. After all, the Dalmation has two very different colors — black and white. Perhaps varied expresses distinction with a stronger relationship between interests that are only slightly different. Consider football, basketball and track as an example. These interests are varied, perhaps, but they have something in common. Therefore, they are in the same category. However, the unalike interests in an first example are all — wait for it — interests. They have something in common too. Foiled again.
Therefore, we must turn to the endings, and find their meanings in the root language in order to answer our root question. The ending -ous is also Latin and means 'full of.' Courageous means full of courage. Furious means full of anger. Various is therefore a stronger word used to denote difference. What does the -ed ending mean in our root language?
past participle suffix of weak verbs, from Old English -ed, -ad, -od (leveled to -ed in Middle English), from Proto-Germanic *-da- (cognates: Old High German -ta, German -t, Old Norse -þa, Gothic -da, -þs), from PIE *-to-, "suffix forming adjectives marking the accomplishment of the notion of the base" [Watkins] (cognates: Sanskrit -tah, Greek -tos, Latin -tus; see -th (1)).
Varied, in its adjectival form, simply means having difference. Here, we see the -ed ending meaning both past tense and a the application of a suffix forming adjectives marking the accomplishment of the notion of the base. With varied, difference has been accomplished, but it is not as strong as the 'full of' connotation provided by the ending -ous. Keep the level of variation in mind next time you want to describe something as varied or various. After all, all of my sporting interests are related, although there may be some difference. They are varied. This dovetails well with the past tense, as it implies also time. The other interests — tennis, photography, libraries, building treehouses — are deeply unalike. They are full of difference. They are various, and multiple.