Etymologically
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multiplex

Etymology and origin of the Latin word multiplex

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (multus,plicō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈmʊɫ.tɪ.pɫɛks][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmul.ti.pleks][1]

Forms

multiplex (genitive multiplicis, adverb multipliciter); third-declension one-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from multus “much, many” and -plex “-fold”, from the root of plicō “to fold”, as in duplex.[2][1][3][4] Lucretius scans it ⟨multīplex⟩.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of many things at once.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant having many folds or turns, as Cicero's winding bowels and Ovid's labyrinth, and in Varro having many layers.[2][6] In Lucretius it meant many times as great, and in Plautus many at once, numerous.[2] From the Rhetorica ad Herennium it meant made of many parts, complex, and in Cicero varied, manifold, and of persons versatile or changeable.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant manifold, many, many times more.[7] British Medieval Latin used it for having many layers.[8] English multiplex came in the 1550s, “manifold”.[9] Late Latin multiplus, from the same elements, gave English multiple.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of many things at once.[2][4]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of many layers.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the manifold.[2][4]
  • 1550s – English multiplex is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Winding.[2]
  2. Of many layers.[2]
  3. Many times as great.[2]
  4. Numerous, many together.[2]
  5. Complex, compound.[2]
  6. Varied, manifold; versatile; changeable.[2]

Word family

  • multiplicitas
  • permultiplex

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Multiplex.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/multiplex. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·