"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).
