miscellany

[mis-uh-ley-nee; British mi-sel-uh-nee]

noun, plural mis·cel·la·nies.

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.

Origin of miscellany

First recorded in 1590–1600; Anglicized variant of miscellanea

Synonyms for miscellany

2. anthology.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for miscellanies

hash, smorgasbord, melee, salmagundi, pastiche, jumble, mix, garbage, anthology, variety, hodgepodge, gallimaufry, potpourri, mixture, diversity, combination, mess, compilation, aggregation, muddle

Examples from the Web for miscellanies

Historical Examples of miscellanies

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 War
John Holland Rose
Miscellanies, the early Elizabethan, subsequent to Tottel's, 25-27.
A History of English Literature
George 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

British Dictionary definitions for miscellanies

miscellany

noun plural -nies

a mixed assortment of items
(sometimes plural) a miscellaneous collection of essays, poems, etc, by different authors in one volume

Word Origin for miscellany

C16: from French miscellanées (pl) miscellanea

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for miscellanies

miscellany

"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).