Definitions

 Quote from a counted cross-stitch picture given to my father.

Definitions is an occasional post in which I delve into the meanings of words that are obscure, interesting, or new to me.

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I haven't posted one these in while, probably because I haven't come across a word that's really intrigued me. The other day while doing the New York cross-word puzzle I was presented with a word I'd never heard of. There are a lot of words I never heard of, but this one had so much character, so much possibility, I had to look it up.

SALMAGUNDI

Is it:
1. A salad plate of meats, eggs and vegetables arranged in rows for contrast and drizzled with salad dressing

or:

2. Potpourri

or:

3. An art club in New York City, established in 1871?

It is, in actuality, all of these things. You can find out more about the Salmagundi Club HERE.

Salmagundi means: 1.) a salad plate of chopped meats, anchovies, eggs, and vegetables arranged in rows for contrast and dressed with a salad dressing. 2.) a heterogeneous mixture 

It comes from the French word, salmigondis meaning (I LOVE this) a disparate assembly of things, ideas or people, forming an incoherent whole.

I keep thinking there's a story in this word, more particularly, a character. Her name would be:

Salma Gundi.

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Are you familiar with this word? Have you ever had a salmagundi salad? Do you think you'll use it in a sentence in your current WIP?