multifactorial

[muhl-tee-fak-tawr-ee-uh l, -tohr-, muhl-tahy-]

adjective

having or stemming from a number of different causes or influences: Some medical researchers regard cancer as a multifactorial disease.

Origin of multifactorial

First recorded in 1915–20; multi- + factor + -ial

Related formsmul·ti·fac·to·ri·al·ly, adverb

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British Dictionary definitions for multifactorial

multifactorial

adjective

genetics of or designating inheritance that depends on more than one gene
involving or including a number of elements or factors

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for multifactorial

adj.

also multi-factorial, 1920, from multi- + factorial.