Word of the Day

: June 4, 2007

multifarious

adjective mul-tuh-FAIR-ee-us

What It Means

: having or occurring in great variety : diverse

multifarious in Context

John listed his multifarious interests and activities on his college application.

Did You Know?

Dictionary makers have dated the first appearance of "multifarious" in print as 1593 -- and rightly so -- but before that time another word similar in form and meaning was being used: "multifary," meaning "in many ways" and appearing (and disappearing) in the 15th century. Before either of the English words existed, there was the Medieval Latin word "multifarius" (same meaning as "multifarious"), from Latin "multifariam," meaning "in many places" or "on many sides." "Multi-," as you may know, is a combining form meaning "many." A relative of "multifarious" in English is "omnifarious" ("of all varieties, forms, or kinds"), created with "omni-" ("all") rather than "multi-."