salmagundi

English

WOTD – 2 November 2008

Alternative forms

• salmagundy
• solomongundy
• Solomon Gundy

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] French salmigondis (“seasoned salt meats”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle French salmigondin, probably related to (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle French salomene (“hodgepodge of meats or fish cooked in wine”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French salemine.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌsal.məˈɡʌn.di/
• IPA^(key): /ˌsæl.məˈɡʌn.di/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

salmagundi (plural salmagundis)

1. A food consisting of chopped meat and pickled herring, with oil, vinegar, pepper, and onions.
2. Hence, any mixture of various ingredients; an olio or medley; a potpourri; a miscellany.
   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, p. 544:

     Partly too it reflected the nature of Revolutionary politics throughout the 1790s, which was invariably a kind of inspired bricolage, which involved yoking together a wide range of pre-existent elements into an unanticipated and constantly changing salmagundi of political forms.

   • 2013 September 14, Jane Shilling, “The Golden Thread: the Story of Writing, by Ewan Clayton, review [print edition: Illuminating language]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)‎^[1], page R29:

     This is not, however, a mere salmagundi of alphabetical arcana.

Synonyms

• (mixture of various ingredients): miscellany, olio, potpourri

References

• “salmagundi”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.