Etymograph

English

miscellany

Miscellany comes from Latin miscellus ‘mixed’, from misceō ‘to mix’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meyḱ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meyḱ-‘to mix’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*miḱ-sḱé-reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mi(k)skō‘to mix’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmisceō‘to mix’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmiscellus‘mixed’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīscellānea
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentmiscellanées
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1896miscellany

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meyḱ-‘to mix’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*miḱ-sḱé-reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*mi(k)skō‘to mix’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmisceō‘to mix’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmiscellus‘mixed’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmīscellānea
  7. Frenchc. 1600–presentmiscellanées
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1896miscellany

Earliest quotation: 1896, Louis H. Sullivan, The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered: “All of these critics and theorists agree, however, positively,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *meyḱ- ‘to mix’

medley, 10 more

through Proto-Italic *mi(k)skō ‘to mix’

admixture, 9 more

through Latin misceō ‘to mix’

mixture, melee, meddle, mell, melange, 10 more

Today it means

noun An assortment of miscellaneous items.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *meyḱ- / miscellany

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