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

[Joel S. Berson]

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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