Omnium-gatherum (noun) #

• om·ni·um-gath·er·um (ˌäm-nē-əm-ˈga-t͟hə-rəm) [plural] omnium-gatherums
• Synonyms of omnium-gatherum

a miscellaneous collection (as of things or persons) #

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English abounds in Latin phrases. They roll off the learned tongue like peas off a fork: tabula rasa, ab ovo, a posteriori, deus ex machina, ex cathedra, mea culpa, terra firma, vox populi, ad hominem, sub rosa. Omnium-gatherum belongs on that list too, right? Not exactly. Omnium-gatherum sounds like Latin, and indeed omnium (the genitive plural of Latin omnis, meaning "all") is the real thing. But gatherum is simply English gather with -um tacked on to give it a classical ring. We're not suggesting, however, that the phrase is anything less than literate. After all, the first person known to have used it was John Croke, a lawyer who was educated at Eton and Cambridge in the 16th century.