potpourri

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a fragrant mixture of dried flower petals, herbs, and spices used to scent a room

   A bowl of rose and lavender potpourri stood beside the fireplace.

2. 2
   noun

   a varied and sometimes miscellaneous collection or mixture

   The exhibition was a potpourri of paintings, costumes, letters, and photographs.

3. 3
   noun

   a musical work made from melodies or passages drawn from several other works

   The orchestra closed with a potpourri of melodies from the composer's operas.

Borrowed from French pot-pourri, literally 'rotten pot,' itself a translation of Spanish olla podrida, the name of a mixed stew. French transferred the name to jars of fermenting flower petals and spices; English then extended it to any varied mixture and to musical medleys.

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