different between miscellany vs hodgepodge

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French miscellanées, from Latin miscellanea, from miscellus (“mixed”), from misce? (“to mix”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /m??s?.l?.ni/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?m?.s??le?.ni/, /m??s?.l?.ni/

Noun

miscellany (countable and uncountable, plural miscellanies)

1. Miscellaneous items.
2. A collection of writings on various subjects or topics; an anthology.

Synonyms

• miscellanea

Related terms

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• hodge-podge
• hotchpotch

Etymology

From Middle English hochepoche, a variation of hochepot, from Old French hochepot, from Middle Dutch hutspot (“beef or mutton cut into small pieces and mixed and boiled together in a pot”), from hotsen, hutsen (“to shake; jog; jolt”) + pot (“pot”), equivalent to hotch +? pot. Compare German Low German Hüttspott (“hodgepodge”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?h?d??p?d?/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?h?d??p?d?/

Noun

hodgepodge (countable and uncountable, plural hodgepodges)

1. A hotchpotch; a collection containing a variety of miscellaneous things.

   Synonyms: farrago, melange, mishmash; see also Thesaurus:hodgepodge

   • 1653, Izaak Walton, The Compleat Angler

     Man's life is but vain, for 'tis subject to pain, / And sorrow, and short as a bubble; / 'Tis a hodge-podge of business, and money, and care, / And care, and money, and trouble.

2. A confused mass of ingredients shaken or mixed together in the same pot.

Translations

Verb

hodgepodge (third-person singular simple present hodgepodges, present participle hodgepodging, simple past and past participle hodgepodged)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To move or position in an erratic, disorganised manner.