multifaceted

Etymology

It is formed from English multi- + faceted,^[2][3][4] also written with a hyphen.^[3] The first element is from Latin multus (“much, many”).^[3] The second, recorded from 1770 of gems cut into facets, comes from facet,^[2] which is from French facette, a diminutive of face (“face”).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Having many faces or facets, in the literal sense: 1870, in G. Rolleston's Forms of Animal Life,^[2] the year Etymonline and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate also give.^[3][5] Dictionary.com dates it 1865–70.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense, having many aspects, skills or qualities, followed in 1892.^[2] It repeats a step already taken by facet, used figuratively by 1820,^[3] and by faceted, used of a person or thing with many sides from 1862, in Carlyle.^[2]

Timeline

• 1870 – literally, having many faces or facets.^[2][3][5]
• 1892 – figuratively, having many aspects, skills or qualities.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Having many aspects, sides or abilities; versatile or complex: a multifaceted career in theatre and radio.^[6][2][5][7]
2. Of a gem or other object, having many facets.^[6][2]

Related words

• facet
• faceted
• face

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin