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