subs. phr. (old: now recognised).—A medley; a Jack-of-all-trades. [Lat. Omnium, genit. plural of omnis = all, and Eng. gather.] GROSE (1785).
1577s. J. DEE, General and Rare Memorials [ARBER, English Garner (1879), ii. 62]. A fortnight in providing a little company of OMNI-GATHARUMS, taken up on the sudden to serve at sea.
1592. G. HARVEY, Foure Letters [GROSART, Wks. i. 190]. A Player, a Coosener, a Rayler, a beggar, an OMNI-GATHERUM, a Gay nothing.
1596. NASHE, Have with You to Saffron-Walden, in Works, iii. 46. Shew vs some of them, that like a great Inquest, we may deliuer our verdit before it come to the OMNI-GATHERUM of Towne and Countrey.
1610. ROWLANDS, Martin Mark-all, p. 24 [Hunterian Club’s Reprint, 1874]. They haue a language among themselues, composed of OMNIUM GATHERUM.
1689. SELDEN, Table-Talk, p. 62 (ARBER’S ed.). So in our Court in Queen Elizabeth’s time Gravity and State were kept up. In King James’s time things were pretty well. But in King Charles’s time, there has been nothing but French-more and the Cushion Dance, OMNIUM GATHERUM, tolly, polly, hoite come toite.
1855. THACKERAY, The Newcomes, lxiii. She … gave me to understand that this party was only an OMNIUM GATHERUM, not one of the select parties.
1861. RICHARD, DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM AND CHANDOS, Memoirs of the Courts and Cabinets of William IV. and Victoria, ii. ch. v. Our meeting … was merely an OMNIUM GATHERUM of all the party.
