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
| 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 | — |
| 6 | Latin | ad- | to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it... |
| 7 | Latin | īn- | — |
| 8 | Latin | în | — |
| 9 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |
Words derived from “multiply”