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multilátero

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word multilátero

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1817 Academy dictionary More words from the 19th century
Ultimate origin
Latin multus,latus

Forms

multilátero (feminine multilátera, masculine plural multiláteros, feminine plural multiláteras)[1]

Etymology

The DLE explains it as from Spanish multi- + -látero, the second part being -laterus (“having sides”), from Latin latus (“side”).[2][1] The Academy's 1899 edition derived it instead from multilaterus, of multus (“much, many”) and the noun for “side”.[3][4] Corominas lists it among the learned compounds of mucho.[5]

De Vaan finds no good etymology for the noun, an old s-stem, and traces the adjective to Proto-Italic *molto-.[6] The same word is French multilatère.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record in the sources is the Academy's 1817 dictionary, which defines it as said in geometry of figures with more than four sides and gives the Latin multilaterus.[7]

Semantic evolution

The definition has hardly changed: Domínguez in 1846 had figures bounded by more than four sides, and the Academy from 1899 has polygons of more than four sides.[8][3][2]

Timeline

  • 1817 – first in the Academy's dictionary, as a term of geometry.[7]
  • 1846 – Domínguez defines it in the same way.[8]
  • 1899 – the Academy gives its Latin etymology and limits it to polygons.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (geometry) Of a polygon: having more than four sides.[2][9]
  2. multilateral.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. multilátero
  3. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 681
  4. ^ a b Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. 441
  5. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 178
  6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  7. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 590
  8. ^ a b Domínguez, Ramón Joaquín (1846–1847), Diccionario nacional o gran diccionario clásico de la lengua española, 2 vols., Madrid: Establecimiento Léxico-Tipográfico de R. J. Domínguez, p. 2, 1234
  9. ^ Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. multilátero
Cite this entry

“Multilátero.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/multil%C3%A1tero. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·