multiple English · revision 1863

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1647|origins=la multus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmʌltɪpəl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|multiple]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(SOED 2002) from [[la-lat|multiplus|t=manifold]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|multi-|t=many, much]] and [[m|la|-plus|t=-fold]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD 2000) The Shorter Oxford and the Concise Oxford call the Late Latin word an alteration of [[m|la|multiplex]],^(SOED 2002)^(COED 2004) which Merriam-Webster and Klein give as the source.^(MW Collegiate)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Consisting of many parts or elements; manifold (1647).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a noun in arithmetic, a number that contains another an exact number of times, it dates from the 1680s (1685 in Barnhart, 1660 in Merriam-Webster).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) In medicine, botany and zoology it describes something made up of many similar units (1676).^(HTOED) Many special uses arose in the 19th and 20th centuries:^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) ''multiple sclerosis'', so called by 1877 because it occurs in patches;^(Etymonline) ''multiple personality'' (1886);^(Etymonline) ''multiple exposure'' in photography (1891);^(Etymonline) ''multiple-choice'' questions (1915);^(Etymonline) and in Britain a ''multiple shop'' or ''multiple'', one of a chain of shops under one owner (1903, as a noun 1951).^(OED 1989)^(HTOED) In the art world a ''multiple'' is a work produced in many copies (1968),^(HTOED) and in finance a share price expressed as a multiple of earnings (1983).^(HTOED)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1647 – consisting of many parts.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1660s–1680s – as a noun, a number divisible by another.^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1877 – ''multiple sclerosis''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1886 – ''multiple personality''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1903 – ''multiple shop''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1915 – ''multiple choice''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1968 – a mass-produced work of art.^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Having or involving more than one part, element or individual; [[manifold]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Many and various.^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(medicine)'' Affecting several parts of the body.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A number that can be divided by another number without a [[remainder]], such as 35 of 7.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A [[chain store]], one of a group of shops under one owner.^(HTOED)^(COED 2004)

+ # A work of art produced in many copies.^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED)

+ # ''(finance)'' A share price expressed as a multiple of earnings per share.^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[multiplet]]

+ * [[nonmultiple]]

+ * [[submultiple]]

+ * [[multiple-choice]]

+ * [[multiple star]]

+ * [[lowest common multiple]]

+ * [[multiple chemical sensitivity]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[multi-]]

+ * [[multiplier]]

+ * [[multiplicity]]

+ * [[multiply]]

+ * [[multiplex]]

+ * [[multitude]]

+ * [[simple]]

+ * [[double]]

+ * [[triple]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}