miscellany

noun

mis·cel·la·ny ˈmi-sə-ˌlā-nē

chiefly British mi-ˈse-lə-nē

plural miscellanies

Synonyms of miscellany next

miscellanies plural : separate writings collected in one volume

: a collection of writings on various subjects

: a mixture of various things

Examples of miscellany in a Sentence

a miscellany of old toys the box from the attic contained a miscellany of old records, family photo albums, and long-forgotten love letters

Recent Examples on the Web The walls are covered with yesteryear gig flyers and band promo photos, random objects ranging tribal masks to skateboard decks -- all sorts of funky miscellany. —

Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 1 Sep. 2023 But there was also miscellany: A paragraph on the Odd Fellowship in the United States immediately precedes a summary of the Gold Yield of the Country and assorted figures related to the Caribbean island St. Thomas. —

Jonathan Malesic, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2023 This vest lacks some of the oversized storage of larger vests, but there are still zippered inner mesh pockets for miscellany. —

Justin Park, Popular Mechanics, 25 May 2023 His miscellany is housed at the Harry Ransom Center, a sprawling literary archive located inside a Brutalist building on the southern tip of UT’s campus. —

Hazlitt, 26 Apr. 2023 If there is nothing so revelatory as his novels here, the miscellany is useful for underscoring the searching curiosity that underpins even the silliest of his comic reveries. —

Elizabeth Nelson, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2023 By echoing the title of a miscellany about the very particulars that, aggregated, make both the idea and the experience of a nation, Cunningham inscribes his own novel into the Whitmanesque space for meditation about what constitutes the soul of America. —

Neel Mukherjee, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2022 Tons of styles are on sale, including some of our other favorite travel bags, the Catalina Deluxe, the perfect weekender with a separate compartment for shoes and other miscellany, and both versions of their durable laptop backpack, the Hanover 2 and slightly larger Hanover Deluxe 2. —

Karen I. Chen, Travel + Leisure, 14 Aug. 2021 Science/News/Writing (science writing), Heh/Wow/Huh (silliness, satire, photos, videos), and Journalism/Internet/Society (a miscellany of my other interests). —

Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 15 Dec. 2012 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'miscellany.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin miscellānea miscellanea, with ending conformed to -y entry 2, perhaps after Middle French miscellanées "miscellaneous writing"

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of miscellany was in 1601

See more words from the same year