Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Multiple in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels multiple as adjective. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913adjective
Multiple

[Cf. F. multiple, and E. quadruple, and multiply.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordmultiple
Part of speechadjective
Historical etymology[Cf. F. multiple, and E. quadruple, and multiply.]
Selected historical definitionContaining more than once, or more than one; consisting of more than one; manifold; repeated many times; having several, or many, parts.
Signed record IDwebster1913-multiple-adjective-87cfd1309c06
Source locatorCIDE.M, paragraph 10898; Gutenberg eBook 665
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 665Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "multiple" is labeled adjective. Its etymology is recorded as: "[Cf. F. multiple, and E. quadruple, and multiply.]" The selected historical definition says: "Containing more than once, or more than one; consisting of more than one; manifold; repeated many times; having several, or many, parts."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

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