multidisciplinary

Etymology

It is formed from English multi- + disciplinary,^[2][3][4] or, in Etymonline's analysis, from multi-, discipline and -ary.^[5] The OED compares the earlier interdisciplinary.^[2] Disciplinary is from Medieval Latin disciplinārius, from disciplīna (“instruction, teaching”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Combining or involving several separate academic disciplines: 1944, in the Mississippi Valley Historical Review.^[2] Etymonline dates it to 1949, and Dictionary.com to 1945–50.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

Merriam-Webster's definition stresses several specialized fields working together for a common purpose, as in applied social science, and gives interdisciplinary as a synonym.^[3] The variant multidisciplined is also recorded.^[4]

Timeline

• 1944 – combining several academic disciplines.^[2]
• 1949 – also spelled multi-disciplinary.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Combining or involving several academic disciplines or fields of expertise: a multidisciplinary team of doctors and engineers.^[6][3][2]

Related words

• interdisciplinary
• discipline
• disciplinary

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins