potpourri
UK /ˌpəʊ.pəˈɹiː/ · US /ˌpoʊ.pʊˈɹiː/ noun
Forms potpourris pot pourri pot-pourri
- noun A mixture of dried fragrant plant material, often in a decorative bowl, used to scent a room.
- noun (music) A medley of songs or music.
- noun (cooking) A ragout or stew of meat and vegetables.
- noun (figurative) A collection of various things; an assortment, mixed bag or motley.
- noun An anthology of miscellaneous prose.
Synonyms
assortment mixture mixed bag miscellany miscellanea variety salmagundi smorgasbord motley medley pastiche
Etymology
From French pot-pourri (“stew, potpourri”), a calque of Spanish olla podrida (“stew”, literally “rotten pot”). Doublet of olla podrida.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A medley or mixture. Specifically: (a) A ragout composed of different sorts of meats, vegetables, etc., cooked together.
Etymology [F., fr. pot pot + pourri, p. p. of pourrir to rot, L. putrere. Cf. Olla-podrida.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “potpourri”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details