Melange [was: Words from Popular Literature Not in OED]

[Wilson Gray]

Amen, Joel.

-Wilson

On 11/8/06, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Melange [was: Words from Popular Literature Not in OED]
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 11/7/2006 09:41 PM, you wrote:
> >So, "melange" might merit an entry. When I first encountered it in Dune, I
> >wondered if this was an invention of Herbert and I was not certain if the
> >word had connotations that I was missing. A listing of another sense of
> >"melange" that credits Herbert with the coinage might be worthwhile.
>
> Not having read either of these two authors, I've
> been puzzled why either of them might be said to
> have invented "melange".  As is surely well
> known, it has a long lineage as "a mixture of
> heterogeneous elements".  As well as shorter
> histories as "A kind of woollen yarn of mingled
> colours" or "Café Mélange. Ingredients: Coffee,
> milk; water; whipped cream; castor sugar".  It is also a verb.
>
> Joel
>
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