mélange

American  

[mey-lahnzh, -lahnj] / meɪˈlɑ̃ʒ, -ˈlɑndʒ /

noun

plural

mélanges

1. a mixture; medley.

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melange British  

/ meɪˈlɑːnʒ /

noun

1. a mixture; confusion

2. geology a totally disordered mixture of rocks of different shapes, sizes, ages, and origins

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mélange Scientific  

/ mā-länzh′ /

1. A metamorphic rock formation created from materials scraped off the top of a downward moving tectonic plate in a subduction zone. Mélanges occur where plates of oceanic crust subduct beneath plates of continental crust, as along the western coast of South America. They consist of intensely deformed marine sediments and ocean-floor basalts and are characterized by the lack of regular strata, the inclusion of fragments and blocks of various rock types, and the presence of minerals that form only under high pressure and low temperature conditions.

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Usage

What does mélange mean? A mélange is a mixture or medley, especially of a wide range or variety of items.It is sometimes spelled without the accent mark, as melange.In geology, it is used in a more specific way to refer to a disordered mixture of rocks of different shapes, sizes, ages, and origins. Such a mixture occurs due to the movement of tectonic plates.Another specific use of mélange refers to a type of fabric made with different colored threads.Example: The documentary is a mélange of video clips, still photos, interviews, and animated sequences.

Etymology

Origin of mélange

1645–55; < French; Old French meslance, equivalent to mesl ( er ) to mix ( meddle ) + -ance noun suffix ≪ Germanic -ingō -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Creating an overarching theme for this melange is a perilous job—focus too locally and what should be a high-profile affair feels provincial; spread your vision too widely and the picture you aim to create never snaps into focus.

From The Wall Street Journal

The appellate ruling didn’t engage in artistic criticism, but the work’s artificial origin might be manifest to the discerning eye — its landscape is busy yet indistinct, sort of a melange of green and purple, and the framing doesn’t have any artistic logic — the eye doesn’t know what it’s supposed to be following.

From Los Angeles Times

The vegetable mélange of childhood pot pies and plastic school cafeteria trays.

From Salon

But, Melendez-Badillo says, he's also a colonial subject -- a reality explored on "Debi Tirar Mas Fotos," which features an ingenious melange of traditional sounds including salsa, bomba and plena, with infusions of reggaeton.

From Barron's

But the confluence of these climatological issues is particularly apparent in Big Sur, where waves, storms and wildfire regularly affect its uniquely steep and fragile landscape, made up of a “melange” of rock types especially susceptible to change, said Jonathan Warrick, a U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• hodgepodge
• jumble
• medley
• miscellany