noun
- miscellaneous items, matters, etc.
- fragments; remnants; scraps; bits.
pl n
- miscellaneous items or articles
Miscellaneous items, fragments and remnants, as in I’ve finished putting everything away, except for a few odds and ends. This expression may have originated as odd ends in the mid-1500s, meaning “short leftovers of some material” (such as lumber or cloth). It had acquired its present form and meaning by the mid-1700s.