multifarious
[muhl-tuh-fair-ee-uh s]
- having many different parts, elements, forms, etc.
- numerous and varied; greatly diverse or manifold: multifarious activities.
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Origin of multifarious
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
assortedmanifoldmanymiscellaneousmultiplemultitudinousmyriadnumerousvariedvariousdiversdiversifiedExamples from the Web for multifarious
Contemporary Examples
Now that we have gotten over these multifarious horribles, we are obliged to ponder the bigger picture.
In many great novels, the multifarious content necessitates a certain largesse of form.
This book intimately and expertly covers his multifarious activities during each of these great crises.
The idea of living a multifarious identity is something that has always occurred to me to be absolutely the norm.
Historical Examples
There were politics, with their multifarious opportunities for fortune and place.
The Law-BreakersRidgwell Cullum
The shapes are so multifarious, as to preclude us from giving any specific directions.
The Ladies' Work-Table BookAnonymous
His singular brain could grapple simultaneously with these multifarious subjects.
A Great ManArnold Bennett
She was a trim yacht, notwithstanding her multifarious employments.
The Three CommandersW.H.G. Kingston
He has the merit of giving some order to this multifarious collection.
Curiosities of Literature, Vol. 1 (of 3)Isaac D'Israeli
multifarious
- having many parts of great variety
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Word Origin
C16: from Late Latin multifārius manifold, from Latin multifāriam on many sides
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for multifarious
adj.
1590s, from Latin multifarius "manifold," from multifariam (adv.) "on many sides; in many places or parts," perhaps originally "that which can be expressed in many ways," from multi- "many" (see multi-) + -fariam, adverbial suffix (cf. bifariam "in two places"), from PIE *dwi-dhe- "making two." Related: Multifariously; multifariousness. Earlier forms of the word in English were multiphary (adv.); multipharie (adj.), both mid-15c.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper