Whatnots

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Various objects or items that are not specifically identified
2. assorted articles or things that are often miscellaneous in nature
3. a collection of various unimportant or insignificant items that may include odds and ends

Etymology: The plural "whatnots" is simply the plural of "whatnot," which is formed from "what" and "not," two common English words placed side by side. The combination is transparent: a "whatnot" is a thing whose name you cannot quite recall or do not bother to specify, so it stands in for the unnamed. The plural follows the same pattern, gathering together a jumble of such odds and ends. The base words are old. "What" descends from Old English "hwæt," and "not" comes from Middle English "nought," a reduced form of "nāwiht" (literally "no whit," or "not a thing"). Over time "nought" was worn down into "not," and the two words fused into the compound "whatnot," which the source traces to this simple pairing rather than to any single coinage.