miscellany
[mis-uh-ley-nee; British mi-sel-uh-nee]
- a miscellaneous collection or group of various or somewhat unrelated items.
- a miscellaneous collection of literary compositions or pieces by several authors, dealing with various topics, assembled in a volume or book.
- miscellanies, a miscellaneous collection of articles or entries, as in a book.
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Origin of miscellany
First recorded in 1590–1600; Anglicized variant of miscellanea
Synonyms
2. anthology.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
hashsmorgasbordmeleesalmagundipastichejumblemixgarbageanthologyvarietyhodgepodgegallimaufrypotpourrimixturediversitycombinationmesscompilationaggregationmuddleExamples from the Web for miscellanies
Historical Examples
Sends her fifty guineas in the leaves of a Norris's miscellanies.
Clarissa, Volume 3 (of 9)Samuel Richardson
See "Pitt and Napoleon Miscellanies" for the letter in full.
William Pitt and the Great WarJohn Holland Rose
Miscellanies, the early Elizabethan, subsequent to Tottel's, 25-27.
A History of English LiteratureGeorge Saintsbury
Tate's paraphrase from Simonides, Dryden's Miscellanies, vol.
The Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 2 (of 10)Alexander Pope
Many of them are preserved in the miscellanies of the times.
A Select Collection of Old English Plays (11 of 15)W. Carew Hazlitt
miscellany
- a mixed assortment of items
- (sometimes plural) a miscellaneous collection of essays, poems, etc, by different authors in one volume
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Word Origin
C16: from French miscellanées (pl) miscellanea
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for miscellanies
miscellany
n.
"a mixture, medley," 1590s, from Latin miscellanea "a writing on miscellaneous subjects," originally "meat hash, hodge-podge" (food for gladiators), neuter plural of miscellaneus (see miscellaneous).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper