multipurpose

Etymology

It is formed from English multi- + purpose.^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Serving, or meant to serve, more than one purpose: 1906 according to Etymonline.^[2] The OED, which spells it multi-purpose, has it first in an advertisement in the Indianapolis Sunday Star of 1920,^[3] and Dictionary.com dates it to 1930–35.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its plain sense of serving several purposes or duties, as in a multipurpose dam or multipurpose furniture.^[4][3] In contract bridge it has rarely been used, from 1972, in the sense of multicoloured.^[3]

Timeline

• 1906 – serving more than one purpose.^[2] The OED's first record is from 1920.^[3]
• 1972 – in bridge, multicoloured (rare).^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Designed or able to be used for several purposes: a multipurpose kitchen tool.^[6][4][7][3]

Related words

• purpose
• multi-

Usage notes

It is also written multi-purpose, the form under which the OED enters it.^[2][3]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin