Where does “multiply” come from?
Multiply comes from French multiplier, from Latin multiplicāre (to increase in number), combining Latin multus (much) and Latin plico (to fold), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots ḱóm (together) and līg- (to bind).
multiply (English): To increase the amount, degree or number of; To...
Definitions
- To increase the amount, degree or number of; To...
Ancestry of “multiply”, step by step
multiply traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via English ply
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ply | A layer of material; A strand that, twisted... |
| 2 | English | apply | To lay or place; to put; To put to use; to use or... |
| 3 | Middle English | aplien | — |
| 4 | Old French | applier | to bend; to apply |
| 5 | Latin | applicō | to apply |
| 6 | Latin | ad- | to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it... |
| 7 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 8 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 9 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |
via English multiple
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | multiple | More than one; Having more than one element,... |
| 2 | French | multiple | multiple; Multiple |
| 3 | Latin | multiplex | having many folds; manifold, numerous; complex |
| 4 | Latin | multus | much; many |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | moltos | much, many |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ml̥tós | crumbled, crumpled |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | mel- | soft; tender; weak; to deceive; to rub |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | mey- | to strengthen; to bind; to change, exchange |
via English multi
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | multi | A multituberculate; Neolamprologus multifasciatus |
| 2 | English | multituberculate | Having molars with multiple rows of cusps; Any of... |
| 3 | English | tuberculate | Having tubercles; Tubercular |
| 4 | Latin | tuberculatus | warty, tuberculate |
| 5 | Latin | tūberculum | a small swelling, bump, or protuberance; a boil, pimple, tubercle |
| 6 | Latin | tūber | a hump, bump, swelling, protuberance; excrescence |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | tūβos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | tewh₂- | to swell; to crowd; to be strong |