"a mixture of various kinds; a medley; a combination of diverse objects, parts, or elements," 1590s, from Latin miscellanea "a writing on miscellaneous subjects," originally "meat hash, hodge-podge" (food for gladiators), neuter plural of miscellaneus "mixed," from miscere "to mix" (from PIE root *meik- "to mix"). From 1610s as "a diversified literary collection;" 1630s as "a book containing compositions on various subjects" (miscellanea in this sense is from 1570s).
c. 1300, "hand-to-hand combat, war, battle," a sense now obsolete, from Old French medlee, variant of meslee, from mesler "to mix, mingle, meddle" (see meddle). From mid-14c. as "cloth made of wools dyed and mingled before being spun," whether of one color or many, but especially pied cloth. The general meaning "a combination, a mixture" is from c. 1400; that of "musical composition or entertainment consisting of diverse parts from different sources" is from 1620s.
arlye 15c., diversifien, "to make various in form or qualities," from Old French diversifier (13c.) "to make diverse," from Medieval Latin diversificare, from Latin diversus "turned different ways," in Late Latin "various," past participle of divertere "to turn in different directions," from assimilated form of dis- "aside" (see dis-) + vertere "to turn" (from PIE root *wer- (2) "to turn, bend"). Economic sense is from 1939. Related: Diversified; diversifying.
popular name of a diverse group of marine mammals, also including the porpoise (but the true dolphin has a longer and more slender snout), mid-14c., dolfin, from Old French daulphin, from Medieval Latin dolfinus, from Latin delphinus "dolphin," from Greek delphis (genitive delphinos) "dolphin," related to delphys "womb," perhaps via notion of the animal bearing live young, or from its shape. Popularly applied to the dorado from late 16c. through some confusion. The constellation is so called from early 15c.
late 14c., dissimulacioun, "concealment of reality under a diverse or contrary appearance," from Old French dissimulation (12c.) and directly from Latin dissimulationem (nominative dissimulatio) "a disguising, concealment, dissembling," noun of action from past-participle stem of dissimulare "make unlike, conceal, disguise," from dis- "not, opposite of" (see dis-) + simulare "to make like, imitate, copy, represent," from stem of similis "like, resembling, of the same kind," from Old Latin semol "together" (from PIE root *sem- (1) "one; as one, together with").
early 15c., "to scatter, disperse (as the wind does)," from Latin ventilatus, past participle of ventilare "to brandish, toss in the air, winnow, fan, agitate, set in motion," from ventulus "a breeze," diminutive of ventus "wind" (from PIE *wē-nt-o‑ "blowing," suffixed (participial) form of root *we- "to blow").
Original notion is of cleaning grain by tossing it in the air and letting the wind blow away the chaff. Meaning "supply a room with fresh air" first recorded 1743, a verbal derivative of ventilation. Formerly with diverse slang senses, including "shoot" (someone), recorded from 1875, on the notion of "make holes in." Related: Ventilated; ventilating.
"of many kinds; numerous in kind or variety; diverse; exhibiting or embracing many points, features, or characteristics," Old English monigfald (Anglian), manigfeald (West Saxon), "various, varied in appearance, complicated; many times magnified; numerous, abundant," from manig (see many) + -feald (see -fold). A Proto-Germanic compound, *managafalþaz (source also of Old Frisian manichfald, Middle Dutch menichvout, German mannigfalt, Swedish mångfalt, Gothic managfalþs), perhaps a loan-translation of Latin multiplex (see multiply).
It retains the original pronunciation of many. Old English also had a verbal form, manigfealdian "to multiply, abound, increase, extend;" in modern times the verb meant "to make multiple copies of by a single operation." Related: Manifoldness.
"the study of phenomena outside the sphere of orthodox psychology," by 1923, from German para-psychologie; see para- (1) "beside" + psychology. Related: Parapsychological.
Similarly, [Prof. Hans Driesch] includes under "parapsychology" such phenomena as telepathy and clairvoyance, which he regards as mere extensions from ordinary mental phenomena, rather than as fundamentally different processes. He believes that the same orderly process by which unclassified and diverse processes have been systematized,—alchemy becoming chemistry, astrology becoming astronomy,—is at work now,—to make, in place of the mysterious tradition of Occultism, a science which will really be an extension from scientific psychology and biology. ["Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research," April 1923]
