Meanings
plural miscellanies
- countableAn assortment of miscellaneous items.
Synonyms: miscellanea, congeries, smorgasbord, bouillabaisse, bric-a-brac, catch-all, clamjamfrey, cocktail
- uncountableThe condition of being miscellaneous, of being a hodgepodge.
1 more example
All of these critics and theorists agree, however, positively, unequivocally, in this, […] that miscellany is abhorrent to their sense; that the sixteen-story building must not consist of sixteen separate, distinct, and unrelated buildings piled one upon the other until the top of the pile is reached.
1896 March, Louis H. Sullivan, “The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered”, in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, volume 57, page 407Synonyms: miscellaneousness
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn assortment of miscellaneous items.
nounA collection of writings on various subjects or topics; an anthology.
nounThe condition of being miscellaneous, of being a hodgepodge.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna collection containing a variety of sorts of things
nounan anthology of short literary pieces and poems and ballads etc.
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinmīscellānea
- Frenchmiscellanées
- Englishmiscellany
Borrowed from French miscellanées, from Latin mīscellānea, from miscellus (“mixed”), from misceō (“to mix”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مُتَفَرِّقات
- مُتَفَرِّقات (mutafarriqāt)Miscellaneous items
Bulgarian смесица, сборник
- смесица (smesica)Miscellaneous items
- сборник (sbornik)A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
- алманах (almanah)A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
Catalan miscel·lània
- miscel·làniaMiscellaneous items
Czech směs, směsice
- směsMiscellaneous items
- směsiceMiscellaneous items
- všehochuťMiscellaneous items
French miscellanée, mélange
- miscellanéeMiscellaneous items
- mélangeMiscellaneous items
- collectionMiscellaneous items
- miscellanéesA collection of writings on various subjects, topics
- (Littéraire ou presse) variaA collection of writings on various subjects, topics
German Gemisch, Sammlung
- GemischMiscellaneous items
- SammlungA collection of writings on various subjects, topics
Hungarian egyveleg, keverék
- egyvelegMiscellaneous items
- keverékMiscellaneous items
Polish mieszanina, zbieranina
- mieszaninaMiscellaneous items
- zbieraninaMiscellaneous items
- miscellaneaA collection of writings on various subjects, topics
- variaA collection of writings on various subjects, topics
Portuguese miscelânea, miscelânea
- miscelâneaMiscellaneous items
- miscelâneaA collection of writings on various subjects, topics
Romanian antologie, culegere
- antologieA collection of writings on various subjects, topics
- culegereA collection of writings on various subjects, topics
Russian ра́зное, сбо́рник
- ра́зное (ráznoje)Miscellaneous items
- сбо́рник (sbórnik)A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
Scottish Gaelic measgachadh
- measgachadhMiscellaneous items
Spanish miscelánea, miscelánea
- misceláneaMiscellaneous items
- misceláneaA collection of writings on various subjects, topics
- antologíaA collection of writings on various subjects, topics
Swedish antologi
- antologiA collection of writings on various subjects, topics
Cite this entry
miscellany. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miscellany
“miscellany.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miscellany. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “miscellany,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/miscellany.
Source: miscellany on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.