Miscellaneous Things Word Don’t ˌmɪsə'Leɪniəs Boy Collection Stamps

Something miscellaneous is made up of an odd bunch of things — things you might not expect to go together. A breakfast bar, a DVD, and a credit card bill are miscellaneous items that may be in your backpack.

The word miscellaneous comes from the Latin word miscere, meaning “to mix.” You might have heard the expression “a mixed bag,” which applies when you don’t quite know what you’re going to get. That’s true of a bag of miscellaneous objects, too. You might pull out socks and a stick of butter — two things that don’t seem to go together. Similarly, miscellaneous can describe something with many variations, like a person who expresses herself in many different ways.