English
multifarious
Multifarious comes from Latin multifārius ‘manifold, various, multifarious’, and goes back to multus ‘many’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmultus‘many’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmultifārius‘manifold, various, multifarious’
- Englishearliest quotation 1878multifarious
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmultus‘many’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmultifārius‘manifold, various, multifarious’
- Englishearliest quotation 1878multifarious
Earliest quotation: 1878, Henry James: “Nothing could well resemble less a typical English street…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mel- ‘good, big’
mole, amelia, dulcimer, 29 more
through Latin multus ‘many’
Today it means
adj Having great diversity or variety; of various kinds; made up of many differing parts.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin multus / multifarious