potpourri

pot·pour·ri  (pp-r)

n. pl. pot·pour·ris

1. A combination of incongruous things: "In the minds of many, the real and imagined causes for Russia's defeats quickly mingled into a potpourri of terrible fears" (W. Bruce Lincoln).

2. A miscellaneous anthology or collection: a potpourri of short stories and humorous verse.

3. A mixture of dried flower petals and spices used to scent the air.

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[French pot pourri (translation of Spanish olla podrida) : pot, pot; see potiche + pourri, past participle of pourrir, to rot (from Old French purir, from Vulgar Latin *putrre, from Latin putrscere; see putrid).]

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potpourri [po-poor-ee]

Noun

pl -ris

1. a fragrant mixture of dried flower petals

2. an assortment or medley [French, literally: rotten pot]

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Potpourri a medley or collection of musical or literary extracts; a dish of different meats stewed together, 1611; a medley.

Examples: potpourri of meat, 1611; of flower perfumes, 1749; of literary pieces, 1864; of musical pieces, 1864; of sounds.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	potpourri - a collection containing a variety of sorts of things; "a great assortment of cars was on display"; "he had a variety of disorders"; "a veritable smorgasbord of religions" assortment, miscellanea, miscellany, mixed bag, motley, salmagundi, smorgasbord, variety, mixture aggregation, collection, accumulation, assemblage - several things grouped together or considered as a whole grab bag - an assortment of miscellaneous items witch's brew, witches' brew, witches' broth - a fearsome mixture; "a witches' brew of gangsters and terrorists"; "mixing dope and alcohol creates a witches' brew" range - a variety of different things or activities; "he answered a range of questions"; "he was impressed by the range and diversity of the collection" selection - an assortment of things from which a choice can be made; "the store carried a large selection of shoes" farrago, gallimaufry, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, melange, mingle-mangle, mishmash, oddments, odds and ends, omnium-gatherum, ragbag - a motley assortment of things alphabet soup - a confusing assortment; "Roosevelt created an alphabet soup of federal agencies" sampler - an assortment of various samples; "a candy sampler"; "a sampler of French poets"
	2.	potpourri - a musical composition consisting of a series of songs or other musical pieces from various sources medley, pastiche musical composition, opus, piece of music, composition, piece - a musical work that has been created; "the composition is written in four movements"
	3.	potpourri - a jar of mixed flower petals and spices used as perfume perfume, essence - a toiletry that emits and diffuses a fragrant odor

Translations

potpourri [pəuˈpuriː] n → pot-pourri m

potpourri [pəuˈpuriː] n (= dried petals) → Duftsträußchen nt (fig); Sammelsurium nt

potpourri [pəuˈpuriː] n (= dried petals etc) → miscuglio di petali essiccati profumati;

(fig) → pot-pourri m inv