mélange

[mey-lahnzh, -lahnj]

noun

plural

mélanges 

1. a mixture; medley.

melange

/ meɪˈlɑːnʒ /

noun

1. a mixture; confusion

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

mélange

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mélange¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of mélange¹

C17: from French mêler to mix. See _medley

Example Sentences

For Lepore, the Constitution is a blueprint of a cathedral, one that has morphed since its inception, rather like New York’s unfinished St. John the Divine with its mélange of architectural styles.

From Los Angeles Times

These wave-cut cliffs, a brittle mélange of ancient claystone and shale, have been eroding on average about a foot a year, exacerbated since the 1980s by a hardened shoreline, intensifying El Niños and, now, sea level rise.

From Los Angeles Times

There is actually no making America “great again,” only an inarticulate and unfulfillable promise to make America into something new, as a cartoon melange of memes and themes: white supremacist but not exclusively white; intensely masculine but with occasional fembot girlbosses; fully employed with F-250 pickups and cruise-ship vacations for all, no income taxes and low-cost health care somehow paid for by … but it’s no good getting too granular.

From Salon

There’s no making America “great again,” only an inarticulate and unfulfillable promise to make America into something new, as a cartoon melange of memes and themes: white supremacist but not exclusively white; intensely masculine but with occasional fembot girlbosses.

From Salon

Thanks to a melange of practical effects, matte paintings, miniatures, models and costly, groundbreaking special effects, Donner achieved a superhero movie that looks unlike anything made in the decades since.

From Salon

Related Words

• assortment 
• hodgepodge 
• mishmash 

When To Use

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.