The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Patchwork \Patch"work`\, n.
   Work composed of pieces sewed together, esp. pieces of
   various colors and figures; hence, anything put together of
   incongruous or ill-adapted parts; something irregularly or
   clumsily composed; a thing patched up. --Swift.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

patchwork
    n 1: a theory or argument made up of miscellaneous or
         incongruous ideas [syn: patchwork, hodgepodge,
         jumble]
    2: a quilt made by sewing patches of different materials
       together [syn: patchwork, patchwork quilt]
    3: sewing consisting of pieces of different materials sewn
       together in a pattern

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

54 Moby Thesaurus words for "patchwork":
   all sorts, assemblage, assortment, broad spectrum, check, checker,
   checkerboard, checkerwork, chessboard, colors in patches,
   confusion, conglomeration, crazy quilt, crazy-work, gallimaufry,
   harlequin, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpot, hotchpotch, jumble, magpie,
   marquetry, mash, medley, melange, mess, mingle-mangle, miscellany,
   mishmash, mix, mixed bag, mixture, mosaic, odds and ends, olio,
   olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, parquet, parquetry, pasticcio,
   pastiche, plaid, potpourri, salad, salmagundi, sauce, scramble,
   stew, tartan, tessellation, tesserae, variegated pattern,
   what you will