▪ I. multiply, v.
(ˈmʌltɪplaɪ)
Forms: 3–5 multe-, 4–6 multy-, (6 moulti-, moulty-); 3–6 -plie, -plye, 4–5 -pli(i); 4– multiply.
[a. OF. (mod.F.) multiplier, ad. L. multiplicāre, f. multiplic-, multiplex.]
1. trans. To cause to become much, many, or more; to make many or manifold; to augment the number, amount, or quantity of. Now rare except as coloured by sense 5.
| a 1275 Prov. ælfred 675 in O.E. Misc. 137 Ac nim þe to þe a stable mon, þat word and dede bi-sette con, and multeplien heure god. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xi. 1 A haly man that sees the vanyte of the warld multiplid. c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶774 Swete wordes multiplien & encressen frendes. c 1400 26 Pol. Poems 148 In salt see I sayled well wyde ffor to multiply my tresoure. 1462 Litt. Red Bk. Bristol (1900) II. 128 Suche..Allions beth gretely multeplied and encreased within the Town. 1535 Coverdale Bel & Dr. G, Peace be multiplied with you. 1648 Wilkins Math. Magic i. vii. 50 These Pulleys may be multiplyed according to sundry different situations. 1694 Addison Poems, Virgil Wks. 1726 I. 30 Till into seven it multiplies its stream. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. lvii. V. 661 The activity of the emperor seemed to multiply his presence. 1833 Tennyson Poems 76 And all things that she [sc. my soul] saw, she multiplied, A manyfaced glass. 1858 Greener Gunnery 155 Elongating the fibres and multiplying their number to an indefinite extent. 1872 Atkinson tr. Ganot's Nat. Philos. §671 By coiling the copper wire in the direction of the needle..the action of the current has been multiplied. 1878 Jevons Primer Pol. Econ. 21 Public libraries, museums, picture galleries and like institutions all multiply utility. |
b. To use or utter a multiplicity of (words, etc.). to multiply words: † (a) to be loquacious; (b) to be verbose.
| 1340 Ayenb. 218 Huanne þe multepliest þine benes ich nelle none y-here. 1382 Wyclif Job xxxv. 16 Job..withoute kunnynge woordis multiplieth. ? 1520 tr. Dial. Creat. Moral. xii. D ij, This vale..brak owte and multyplyed greate wordis agayne the hyll. 1529 in Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. xiv. 258 No man..shall multiplye langage yn the Courte tyme. 1530 Palsgr. 641/2, I moultiplye langage with one, as folkes do that chyde togyther. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 100 When they had thus multiplied talke vpon both sydes. 1652 [see multiplying vbl. n. 1]. 1726 Swift Gulliver ii. vii, They avoid nothing more than multiplying unnecessary Words, or using various Expressions. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) VI. 444 What he meant by the said premises was evident, and could not have been rendered clearer by saying all the said premises, though it might have served to multiply words. |
c. In const. of the type to multiply evil upon evil, to add evil to evil, accumulate instances of evil.
| 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 74 b, And he sawe a Iong mayde that lerned to wryte, of whom he sayde that me multiplied euyl vpon euyll. 1625 Bp. Hall Medit. iii. xc. Wks. 65 It is a damnable iniquitie in man, to multiplie one sinne vpon another. 1830 Tennyson Poet 33 Thus truth was multiplied on truth. |
d. To adduce a large number of (instances, etc.).
| 1716 Addison Freeholder No. 6 ¶3 'Tis unnecessary to multiply Instances of this nature. 1845 Encycl. Metrop. II. 899/1 These explicit declarations against heresy might be multiplied to almost any extent. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. xxxii. 418 Instances of this kind might be multiplied. |
† e. Const. inf. (A Hebraism.) Obs.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter Cant. 500 Willis noght multiply to speke heghe thyngis. 1649 Bp. Reynolds Hosea v. 12 He multiplyeth to pardon. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 9 He taketh delight to multiply to pardon offences. |
† f. To increase the intensity of; occas. to magnify optically. Obs.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. xci. (1495) 840 The frogge multyplyeth his voyce whan he dooth his nether jowe somdeale in the water and strykyth the vpper jowe. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. (1629) 249 His eies saw no terrour, nor eare heard any martiall sound, but that they multiplied the hidiousnesse of it to his mated mind. 1626 Bacon New Atl. (1900) 42 Wee Multiply Smells, which may seeme strange. 1651 J. Cleveland Wks. C 5 Just as an Optique Glasse contracts the sight At one end, but when turn'd doth multiply't. |
2. intr. To become of great number or quantity; to be increased or augmented by accumulation or repetition.
| c 1330 Spec. Gy de Warewyke 1009 Almesdede fordoþe þi synne..And þi god shal multiplie. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 278 Euelez on erþe..grewen & multyplyed mony-folde. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 5195 By concorde, smale þinges multiplien. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. 4376 Þat þoruȝ þe worlde þe fyr gan multiplie. c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 1002 He saw the Sothroun multipliand mayr. 1588 Kyd Househ. Phil. Wks. (1901) 280 Much more may riches multiply that consist in bare money then [etc.]. 1666 Marvell Corr. lii. Wks. (Grosart) II. 188 Busynesse does so multiply of late that I can scarce snatch time to write to you. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xix. II. 127 Reduced to an humble station by the prudence of Constantine, they [sc. eunuchs] multiplied in the palaces of his degenerate sons. 1842 Manning Serm. i. (1848) I. 7 As sin has multiplied in its extent, so it would seem also to have become more intense. 1858 Kingsley Lett. (1878) I. 21 The flame increased—multiplied—at one point after another. |
† b. transf. To accrue as interest. Obs. rare—1.
| c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 525/25 At it sulde be lent in vsurie iij yere after his decese, and at þai sulde gyff for his sawle all þat multiplied þerof. |
† c. intr. and pass. To be abundantly provided with. Obs.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) E, Oure senate faylethe of meke and wyse Senatours, and multiplieth with these serpentines. 1588 Kyd Househ. Phil. Wks. (1901) 265 That wealth whereby we should expect to haue our houses so distinguished and multiplyed with offycers. |
† 3. trans. To increase (a family, etc.) by natural generation or procreation (freq. in pass.); to cause (the earth) to become populous. Obs. or arch.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 2647 Abram,..Multipli þi sede i sall. 1375 Creation 510 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 130 Þeȝ..broȝten forþ mo [children], Þe worlde to multiply. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xx. 89 Waxez and beese multiplied and fillez þe erthe. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. i. (1883) 76 Whan Adam their fader maried them for to multiplye y⊇ erthe of hys lignye. 1538 Starkey England ii. i. 146 The way and mean to suffyce, multyply, and encrese them [sc. the people] agayn to a conuenyent nombur, ys only natural generatyon. 1673 Temple Ess. on Ireland Wks. 1731 I. 110 People are multiplied in a Country by the Temper of the Climate, favourable to Generation. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 413 ¶5 That all Creatures might be tempted to multiply their Kind. 1784 Cowper Task v. 221 When man was multiplied and spread abroad In tribes and clans. |
| absol. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xix. 226 A man with-oute a make myghte nat wel of kynde Multeplie. |
b. To breed (animals); to propagate (plants). † Also (of the parts of a plant), to produce by propagation, to cause to grow.
| 1471 Ripley Comp. Alch. xi. v. in Ashm. (1652) 182 The Tre of Hermes..Of whych one Pepyn a thowsand wyll Multyply. 1599 [see multiplying vbl. n. 1]. 1707 Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 197 The Method of Multiplying Plants by Layers. 1760 J. Lee Bot. iii. iii. (1810) 416 The Trunk, which serves to multiply the herb, and leads immediately from the root to the fructification. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St. Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 659 They could themselves drain marshes, clear waste lands, multiply flocks. 1833 Penny Cycl. I. 61/1 Most of them may be multiplied by cuttings struck in silver sand. 1857 Balfour Cycl. India 1184 This is a large Mango multiplied at Mergui. |
4. intr. To increase in number by natural generation or procreation (occas. by artificial means).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 638 Drightin þam blessed, and bad þam brede, And multipli in þar sede. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 344 Hou god to man be weie of kinde Hath set the world to multeplie. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) v. xiv. (1859) 80 Whiche fisshes he putte in the stewe, where they haue spawned and multyplyed. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1717 Isys was callyd the Goddesse Of Frute, for she fyrst made hit multyply By the meane of gryffyng. 1535 Coverdale Job xii. 23 He both increaseth the people, and destroyeth them: He maketh them to multiplie, and dryueth them awaye. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 57 The Priests thereupon throw Rice upon their heads, praying that they may multiply as Rice. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 183 As for my Cats, they multiply'd. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India II. 83 Under a climate more congenial..the descendants of a northern race may be able to aggregate and multiply. 1883 Darwin in Pall Mall G. 7 Dec. 11/2 Multiply, vary; let the strongest live and the weakest die. |
5. trans. (Math.) To operate upon (a given quantity, called the multiplicand) with another quantity (called the multiplier) so as to produce a quantity (called the product) having the same ratio to the multiplicand as the multiplier has to unity. In Higher Algebra, to apply an operator to (an operand).
| c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §41 a, Þan loke how moche space of feet ys be-twen þe and þe tour, & multiplie þat be 12. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xx. 92 Now be þise all multiplied CCC. tymes and LX. 1594 Blundevil Exerc. i. iv. 5 b, Whensoeuer you haue to multiply one number by another. 1610 W. Folkingham Art of Survey ii. viii. 62 Multiply the Basall Area by 6. 1635 J. Babington Geometry 34 Let the line AB be given to be multiplyed by the line CD. 1706 W. Jones Syn. Palmar. Matheseos 20 Multiply each Figure of the Multiplicand, by each Figure of the Multiplier. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 293 A force equal to 20 cwt. multiplied by 2304. 1842 De Morgan Int. & Diff. Calc. 11 What is a multiplied by 1/1000? The answer is a taken the thousandth part of a time, or the thousandth part of a. 1858 Bright Sp., Reform 27 Oct. (1869) 281 The annual income of the estate multiplied by the number of years which..he may be expected to live. 1885 W. K. Clifford Common Sense of Exact Sci. 201 If a vector step be multiplied by itself, the product is zero; that is, AP . AP = (AP)2 = 0. |
| transf. and fig. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. i. ii. 7 Like a Cypher (Yet standing in rich place) I multiply With one we thanke you, many thousands moe, That goe before it. 1891 Meredith One of our Conq. xviii, You have multiplied your investment by ten. |
b. to multiply (one quantity) into, † in (another); to multiply (two quantities) together: to find the product of the two quantities.
| 1557 Recorde Whetst. E ij b, 1225. And so moche doeth there arise by .35. multiplied into it self. 1571 Digges Pantom. i. vi. C iij b, The firste multiplied in the fourth, produceth a quantitie equall to that which is made by multiplication of the seconde in the thirde. 1610 W. Folkingham Art of Survey ii. viii. 61 Multiply the perpendicular in the demibase. 1690 Leybourn Curs. Math. 15 The numbers to be multiplied must be set one under another. 1709 J. Ward Yng. Math. Guide (1734) 340 Multiply the Base of the given Triangle into Half its perpendicular Height. Ibid. 439 Multiply the Two Diameters (viz. the Length and Breadth) together. 1812 Playfair Nat. Phil. I. 110 The weight multiplied into the height to which it is raised. 1885 C. Leudesdorf Cremona's Proj. Geom. 283 If these equations be multiplied together. |
c. intr. To perform the process of multiplication.
| 1579 Digges Stratioticos 4 To multiplie, is to find of two Numbers a number product the one in the other augmented. 1652 News fr. Low Countr. 8 Podex can..Adde, Multiply, Subtract, Divide. 1798 Hutton Course Math. (1806) I. 13 The number you multiply by, or the number of repetitions, is the Multiplier. 1840 Lardner Geom. 102 If we require the area, we have only to multiply by 3·14. |
d. Said of the multiplier (trans. and intr.).
| c 1425 Crafte Nombrynge (E.E.T.S.) 21 Numerus multiplicans. Anglice, þe nombur multipliynge. 1570 Billingsley Euclid 214 b, If a number multiplieng himselfe produce a cube number: then is that number also a cube number. 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. II. s.v. Multiplication, Negatives multiplying Positives, must produce Negatives. 1709 J. Ward Yng. Math. Guide i. ii. (1734) 14 When the Number Multiplied is so often Added to itself, as there are Units in the Number Multiplying. 1859 Salmon Higher Alg. 70 The terms multiplying xy must be a3a0 and a2a1. |
† 6. Alch. (trans. and intr.) To increase the precious metals, as by transmutation of the baser metals. Also intr. (for pass.), said of the precious metals. Obs.
| c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 848 A man may lightly lerne, if he have aught, To multiplye, and bringe his good to naught. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 84 Thei founden thilke experience, Which cleped is Alconomie, Whereof the Selver multeplie Thei made and ek the gold also. 1477 Norton Ord. Alch. in Ashm. (1652) 17 Saying how they can Multiplie Gold and Silver. Ibid. 18 When such men promise to Multiplie, They compasse to doe some Villony. Ibid., Upon Nature thei falsely lye For Mettalls doe not Multiplie. 1543 tr. Act 5 Hen. IV, c. 4 It is ordeyned..that none from hensforth shall vse to multiplie golde or syluer, nor vse the craft of multiplication. 1592 Lyly Gallathea iii. iii, An arte quoth you, that one multiplieth so much all day, that he wanteth money to buy meate at night? 1650 Evelyn Diary 14 Dec., An impostor that had like to have impos'd upon us a pretended secret of multiplying gold. 1688 Act 1 Will. & Mary, c. 30 [citing Act 5 Hen. IV]. |
▪ II. multiply, adv.
(ˈmʌltɪplɪ)
[f. multiple + -ly2.]
In a multiple manner; many ways or times, or more than once. spec. in Math. multiply connected (see quot. 1893); multiply-periodic, having many periods.
The use of a following hyphen is similar to that described at well adv. VII.
| 1881 Maxwell Electr. & Magn. I. 120 If the region ς is doubly or multiply connected. 1892 Mind I. 353 The rules for the synthesis of multiply-quantified propositions follow immediately from those for the synthesis of singly-quantified propositions. 1893 A. R. Forsyth Theory of Functions 315 A surface is simply connected, if it be resolved into two distinct pieces by every cross-cut; but if there be any cross-cut, which does not resolve it into distinct pieces, the surface is multiply connected. Ibid. 464 Functions which are multiply-periodic. 1922 F. W. Aston Isotopes 71 These multiply-charged clusters give most reliable values of mass. 1932 Lewis & Langford Symbolic Logic ix. 301 A hierarchy..is involved in multiply-general propositions and functions. 1962 W. & M. Kneale Devel. of Logic ii. 112 Two distinct quantifiers are required, as in the statement ‘Some man does not possess all knowledge’, and multiply general statements are quite common in science and philosophy, e.g. ‘Every event has a cause’. 1963 B. Fozard Instrumentation Nucl. Reactors ii. 12 In many cases only one electron is separated from the parent atom in an ionising process but cases occur where several electrons are emitted and the atom is said to be multiply ionised. 1966 D. G. Brandon Mod. Techniques Metallogr. iv. 204 The ions will be multiply-charged. 1971 Jrnl. Gen. Psychol. LXXXV. 165 Almost no studies have been specifically directed to the detection of the relative power of the different kinds of categories into which words seem to be multiply encoded. |