Pasticcio

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A disorderly combination of elements thrown together without order ; a creative piece made by assembling segments from different works, often musical or literary
2. A confused or chaotic assortment that lacks harmony or organization ; a work constructed from multiple previously existing parts, forming a patchwork in arts or literature
3. An untidy or heterogeneous mix of things that creates a sense of disorder ; a composite composition using excerpts from diverse creators or styles in music or writing

Etymology: Pasticcio is Italian for "pie" or "pastry," derived from "pasta" in the sense of dough, and the English word kept that culinary sense before it ever described art. Musicians and painters borrowed it for a work stitched together from pieces of other works, so a pasticcio opera might be built from arias by several composers. Its close relative, pastiche, is a doublet: the two words descend from the same Italian source but reached English by different routes and took on slightly different shades of meaning. Use the word in English and the sense is usually mixed. It can praise a deliberate patchwork, as when a composer assembles a new opera from borrowed melodies, or it can criticise a jumble that has no unifying logic. The same pastry-making image sits behind both senses: many ingredients brought together into one shell, whether or not they blend.

Synonyms: hash, pastiche, medley, mixture, mishmash