Multiply MUL'TIPLY, v.t. [L. multiplico; multus, many, and plico, to
fold or double.] 1. To increase in number; to make more by natural
generation or production, or by addition; as, to multiply men, horses or
other animals; to multiply evils. I will multiply my signs and wonders
in Egypt. Exo 7. Impunity will multiply motives to disobedience.
2. In arithmetic, to increase any given number as many times as there are
units in any other given number. Thus 7x8=56, that is, 7 multiplied by 8
produces the number 56. MUL'TIPLY, v.i. To grow or increase
in number. Be fruitful and multiply. Gen 1. When men began to
multiply on the face of the earth. Gen 6. 1. To increase in extent;
to extend; to spread. The word of God grew and multiplied. Acts 12.
multiply
v 1: combine by multiplication; "multiply 10 by 15" [ant:
divide, fraction]
2: combine or increase by multiplication; "He managed to
multiply his profits" [syn: multiply, manifold]
3: have young (animals) or reproduce (organisms); "pandas rarely
breed in captivity"; "These bacteria reproduce" [syn:
breed, multiply]
4: have offspring or produce more individuals of a given animal
or plant; "The Bible tells people to procreate" [syn:
reproduce, procreate, multiply]
adv 1: in several ways; in a multiple manner; "they were
multiply checked for errors" [ant: singly]
multiply
c.1150, from O.Fr. multiplier, from L. multiplicare "to increase," from
multiplex (gen. multiplicis) "having many folds, many times as great in
number," from multi- "many" + plicare "to fold."
multiply I. verb (-plied; -plying)
Etymology: Middle English multiplien, from Anglo-French
multiplier, from Latin multiplicare, from multiplic-,
multiplex multiple Date: 13th century transitive verb1. to increase in number especially greatly or in multiples ;augment2.a. to find the product of by multiplication <multiply
7 and 8> b. to use as a multiplicand in multiplication with
another number <multiply 7 by 8>
intransitive verb1.a. to become greater in number ;spreadb.breed, propagate2. to perform multiplication Synonyms:seeincreaseII. adverbDate: 1881
in a multiple manner ; in several ways <multiply
talented children>
multiply v. (-ies, -ied) 1 tr. (also absol.) obtain from (a number) another that is a specified number of times its value (multiply 6 by 4 and you get 24). 2 intr. increase in number esp.
by procreation. 3 tr. produce a large number of (instances etc.). 4 tr. a breed (animals). b propagate (plants). Etymology: ME f. OF multiplier f. L multiplicare (as MULTIPLEX)
Multiply \Mul"ti*ply\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Multiplied; p. pr.
& vb. n. Multiplying.] [F. multiplier, L. multiplicare, fr.
multiplex manifold. See Multitude, Complex.]
1. To increase in number; to make more numerous; to add
quantity to.
Impunity will multiply motives to disobedience.
--Ames.
2. (Math.) To add (any given number or quantity) to itself a
certain number of times; to find the product of by
multiplication; thus 7 multiplied by 8 produces the number
56; to multiply two numbers. See the Note under
Multiplication.
3. To increase (the amount of gold or silver) by the arts of
alchemy. [Obs.]
Multiplying gear (Mach.), gear for increasing speed.
Multiplying lens. (Opt.) See under Lens.
Multiply \Mul"ti*ply\, v. i.
1. To become greater in number; to become numerous.
When men began to multiply on the face of the earth,
and daughters were born unto them. --Gen. vi. 1.
2. To increase in extent and influence; to spread.
The word of God grew and multiplied. --Acts xii.
24.
3. To increase amount of gold or silver by the arts of
alchemy. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
On most web browsers you can double click any word on this page to see what definitions I have for that word.
This dictionary server is not an authoratative source of information for anything. Like almost everything at sorabji.com, I set this up for my own purposes. In this case the purpose is to
browse words and ideas at random. An automatically generated page that produces 1000 Random Words
is my gateway to this resource. I also attempt a word of the day project,
in which I attempt to write something about myself starting with interesting words that I find through the Wordswarm Random Words Pages. I have made
available the complete 1828 Webster's Dictionary, which many feel is the greatest English dictionary ever published.
Other random links of mine include the Sorabji.com Random Link, which sends you to one of
over 7,000 pages on my web sites; the Face Server produces random images of
human faces; clicking the Random WAYD link shows you a random posting to my "What Are You Doing?" board; the Random USPS
Mailbox link sends you to a page with information about a random mailbox; and the random pictures page page of sorabji.com shows one of over 11,000 random images any time you load the page. On an unrelated note, I have begun making several thousand pages of legal documents searchable.