amalgams

'amalgams'

[amalgam.n.01] as in: an alloy of mercury with another metal (usually silver) used by dentists to fill cavities in teeth; except for iron and platinum all metals dissolve in mercury and chemists refer to the resulting mercury mixtures as amalgams

'amalgams'

[amalgam.n.02] as in: a combination or blend of diverse things

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Examples:
his theory is an amalgam of earlier ideas