multifarious

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 4, 2007 is: multifarious • \mul-tuh-FAIR-ee-us\  • adjective : having or occurring in great variety : diverse Examples: 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-." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.