Miscellaneum

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ËŒmɪsəˈleɪnɪəm/

Origin

Perhaps by back-formation from miscellanea, in accordance with the -um → -a rule of plural formation of neuter nouns in the nominative case from the Latin second declension.

Full definition of miscellaneum

Noun

1. (rare, chiefly archaic) A miscellany.
• 1652: Samuel Hartlib, Cornu Copia : A Miscellaneum of lucriferous and most fructiferous Experiments, Observations, and Discoveries, immethodically distributed ; to be really demonstrated and communicated in all Sincerity., book title (Harleian Miscellany, volume VI, pages 27–36)Cornu Copia : A Miscellaneum of lucriferous and most fructiferous Experiments, Observations, and Discoveries, immethodically distributed ; to be really demonstrated and communicated in all Sincerity.
• 1851: The Musical World, page 129The second part was devoted to a miscellaneum. It commenced with a reference to the interdiction of stage entertainment in the time of the Protectorate.
• 1999: Housman Society, Housman Society Journal, page 87 (Turner & Devereux)Aside from those cited in this miscellaneum, other copies are to be seen at Bryn Mawr (inscribed by Kennerley to R. W. Ellis); Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; and private collection 1.
• 2004: Shlomo Berger, Michael Brocke, and Irene E Zwiep, Zutot 2003, page 28 (Springer; ISBN 1402026277, 978-1402026270)In this miscellaneum I would like to describe a medieval translation of Keter Malkhut which, to the best of my knowledge, has not been noted anywhere in scholarly literature.

Usage notes

Miscellanea is almost universally treated as a plurale tantum in English, consequently, the singular form miscellaneum is liable to cause confusion:

As miscellanea means, in the usual sense, “a miscellaneous collection of different things”, a single miscellaneum is logically impossible because variety and diversity (in their usual senses) are attributes of groups of things, not of individual things; for example, a populace can be varied and diverse, but a person cannot be various or diverse.

Miscellanea will usually be taken to mean “a single miscellany”, not several assortments.

In common usage, miscellany is over seven hundred times more common than miscellaneum

GoogleFight: miscellany vs. miscellaneum

, whereas miscellanea is around six hundred times more common than miscellaneum

GoogleFight: miscellanea vs. miscellaneum

in re plural forms, the Anglicised miscellaneums is well over a hundred thousand times rarer than miscellanea

GoogleFight: miscellanea vs. miscellaneums and over eighteen thousand times rarer than miscellanies

GoogleFight: miscellanies vs. miscellaneums

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