Picture not one thing but many of the same thing, folded together — the same item repeated again and again. Whether it describes things ('many of them') or names a number built by repeating, multiple always carries that sense of 'one taken many times'.
From the word’s history
From Latin multiplus 'manifold', from multus 'many' + -plus 'fold' — literally 'many-fold', folded many times over.
源自拉丁文 multiplus「多重的」，由 multus「許多」加 -plus「摺、層」組成——字面上是「摺很多層」，所以核心畫面一直是「同一個東西疊很多份」。
Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), entry 'multiple'
登入就可以看每一支怎麼連回核心畫面。
原始詞典資料11 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
multipledet/ˈmʌltɪpəl/
- 1
More than one (followed by plural).
- My Swiss Army knife has multiple blades.
- Not long ago, it was difficult to produce photographs of tiny creatures with every part in focus.[…]A photo processing technique called focus stacking has changed that. Developed as a tool to electronically combine the sharpest bits of multiple digital images, focus stacking is a boon to biologists seeking full focus on a micron scale.
multipleadj/ˈmʌltɪpəl/
- 1
Having more than one element, part, component, or function, having more than one instance, occurring more than once, usually contrary to expectations (can be followed by a singular).
- Some states do explicitly prohibit multiple citizenship.
- It was a multiple pregnancy: the woman had triplets.
- 2
Having more than one element, part, component, or function, having more than one instance, occurring more than once, usually contrary to expectations (can be followed by a singular).
- While being multiple can cause complexity to people’s lives, as will be highlighted below, all respondents noted that they would not want to change their experiences of being multiple.
multiplenoun/ˈmʌltɪpəl/
- 1
mathematicssciencesA whole number that is obtained by multiplying a specific whole number by another whole number.
- 14, 21 and 70 are multiples of 7
- 2
businessfinancePrice-earnings ratio.
- 3
One of a set of the same thing; a duplicate.
- One might view this attempt to ensure the scarcity of a multiple as both a marketing ploy and form of elitism.
- 4
A single individual who displays or experiences multiple personalities or selves.
- I had seen its first show when it was a freebie, but I thought it made multiples in general look silly – no one changes clothes THAT much!
- Non-abused multiples have no need of doctors, and they have carved out a foothold of their own from where they speak confidently about their utopian vision of a multiple world.
- 5
One of a set of siblings produced by a multiple birth.
- 6
A chain store.
- The big advantage such multiples can offer over a purely catalogue operation is that winners can be given shopping vouchers enabling them to choose from goods on display in the multiples' many outlets (Woolworths, for example, has 1,000).
- 7
A discovery resulting from the work of many people throughout history, not merely the work of the person who makes the final connection.
- Merton's argument that all scientific discoveries are multiples would seem to contradict the theory of genius […]
- 8
More than one piercing in a single ear.
- First of all, the 'greenhorn' stigma of piercing has worn off. The older woman sees her daughter wearing multiples. So she's confident enough to have her ears pierced at least once.
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。