Standard Lemma guide

miscellany

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /mɪˈsɛləni/
  • UK: /ˈmɪsələni/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: /ˈmɪsəleɪni/
  • US: /mɪˈsɛləni/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: M IH1 S AH0 L EY2 N IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An assortment of miscellaneous items.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: miscellanea, congeries, smorgasbord, bouillabaisse, bric-a-brac, catch-all, clamjamfrey, cocktail, rummage, salad, anthology, gallery, crazyquilt, disjecta membra, farrago, galimatias, gallimaufry, grab bag, hodgepodge, horse and rabbit stew, hotchpotch, hotchpot, job lot, jumble, macedoine, medley, melange, mingle-mangle, miscellany, mishmash, mixed bag, mixture, motley, odds and ends, oddments, olio, olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, pastiche, patchwork quilt, potpourri, ragbag, salmagundi, slurry, welter, Whitman's sampler

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A collection of writings on various subjects or topics; an anthology.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Examples

  • a monthly miscellany of literature

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: reader

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The condition of being miscellaneous, of being a hodgepodge.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: miscellaneousness

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

an anthology of short literary pieces and poems and ballads etc.

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: florilegium, garland

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: anthology

5

noun

Meaning 5

a collection containing a variety of sorts of things

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a great assortment of cars was on display
  • he had a variety of disorders
  • a veritable smorgasbord of religions

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: assortment, mixture, mixed bag, miscellanea, variety, salmagundi, smorgasbord, potpourri, motley

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: collection, aggregation, accumulation, assemblage

Narrower terms: grab bag, witches' brew, witches' broth, witch's brew, range, selection, odds and ends, oddments, melange, farrago, ragbag, mishmash, mingle-mangle, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, gallimaufry, omnium-gatherum, alphabet soup, sampler

History

Etymology

Borrowed from French miscellanées, from Latin mīscellānea, from miscellus (“mixed”), from misceō (“to mix”).

Across languages

Translations

33 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مُتَفَرِّقات (mutafarriqāt) — Miscellaneous items
  • Bulgarian: смесица (smesica) — Miscellaneous items
  • Catalan: miscel·lània — Miscellaneous items
  • Czech: směs — Miscellaneous items
  • Czech: směsice — Miscellaneous items
  • Czech: všehochuť — Miscellaneous items
  • French: miscellanée — Miscellaneous items
  • French: mélange — Miscellaneous items
  • French: collection — Miscellaneous items
  • German: Gemisch — Miscellaneous items
  • Hungarian: egyveleg — Miscellaneous items
  • Hungarian: keverék — Miscellaneous items
  • Malayalam: പലവക (palavaka) — Miscellaneous items
  • Polish: mieszanina — Miscellaneous items
  • Polish: zbieranina — Miscellaneous items
  • Portuguese: miscelânea — Miscellaneous items
  • Russian: ра́зное (ráznoje) — Miscellaneous items
  • Scottish Gaelic: measgachadh — Miscellaneous items
  • Spanish: miscelánea — Miscellaneous items
  • Bulgarian: сборник (sbornik) — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
  • Bulgarian: алманах (almanah) — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
  • French: miscellanées — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
  • French: (Littéraire ou presse) varia — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
  • German: Sammlung — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
  • Polish: miscellanea — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
  • Polish: varia — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
  • Portuguese: miscelânea — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
  • Romanian: antologie — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
  • Romanian: culegere — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
  • Russian: сбо́рник (sbórnik) — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
  • Spanish: miscelánea — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
  • Spanish: antología — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
  • Swedish: antologi — A collection of writings on various subjects, topics
Real reading context

miscellany in complete knowledge articles

Bertie Greatheed Language & communication · Challenging · 2 uses Annie E. Holdsworth Language & communication · Advanced · 1 uses