salmagundi

English

WOTD – 2 November 2008

Etymology

From French salmigondis (“seasoned salt meats”), from Middle French salmigondin, probably related to Middle French salomene (“hodgepodge of meats or fish cooked in wine”), from Old French salemine.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌsal.məˈɡʌn.di/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌsæl.məˈɡʌn.di/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

salmagundi (countable and uncountable, plural salmagundis)

1. A food consisting of chopped meat and pickled herring, with oil, vinegar, pepper, and onions.
2. Hence, any mixture of various ingredients; an olio or medley; a potpourri; a miscellany.

   Synonyms: miscellany, olio, potpourri

   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 544:

     Partly too it reflected the nature of Revolutionary politics throughout the 1790s, which was invariably a kind of inspired bricolage, which involved yoking together a wide range of pre-existent elements into an unanticipated and constantly changing salmagundi of political forms.

   • 2013 September 14, Jane Shilling, “The Golden Thread: the Story of Writing, by Ewan Clayton, review [print edition: Illuminating language]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)‎^[1], page R29:

     This is not, however, a mere salmagundi of alphabetical arcana.

Alternative forms

• salmagundy; solomongundy
• solomon gundy, Solomon Gundy (these also refer to a different Jamaican appetizer)

Derived terms

• Solomon Gundy (“Jamaican fish pâté”)

References

• “salmagundi”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.