multiplicity

[ muhl-tuh-plis-i-tee ]

noun

, plural mul·ti·plic·i·ties.

1. a large number or variety:

   a multiplicity of errors.

2. the state of being multiplex or manifold; manifold variety.

multiplicity

/ ˌmʌltɪˈplɪsɪtɪ /

noun

1. a large number or great variety
2. the state of being multiple
3. physics
   1. the number of levels into which the energy of an atom, molecule, or nucleus splits as a result of coupling between orbital angular momentum and spin angular momentum
   2. the number of elementary particles in a multiplet

Word History and Origins

Origin of multiplicity¹

1580–90; < Late Latin multiplicitās, equivalent to multiplic- (stem of multiplex ) multiplex + -itās -ity

Example Sentences

“It was about London and the multiplicity of people and realities that are there,” Durran says.

From Los Angeles Times

Recent histories of the Blackwells and the Grimkes have expanded our understanding of how progress is rarely spurred by a single, unsullied person; it takes a multiplicity.

From Los Angeles Times

From the moment he got his first defensive coordinator job with the University of Michigan in 2021, Mike Macdonald has preached the gospel of multiplicity.

From Seattle Times

Los Angeles’ sprawl allows for a multiplicity of cultures to have their own hubs, rather than a general international district such as in Seattle or the pan-Asian Flushing in New York.

From Los Angeles Times

This fluidity is evident in tracks like "Jennifer's Body" and "Gutless," where Love adopts different personas to explore the multiplicity of feminine identity and challenge essentialist notions of womanhood.

From Salon

Related Words

• jumble
• profusion

More About Multiplicity

What does multiplicity mean?

Multiplicity most commonly means a large number or a great variety.

It is the noun form of the adjective multiple, meaning more than one or several. It can also mean the state of being multiple.

Multiplicity is used in more specific ways in several different scientific fields, but all of them have to do with multiple instances of things.

Example: When designing a craft for space travel, you have to consider a multiplicity of issues.

Where does multiplicity come from?

The first records of multiplicity come from around the 1500s. It comes from the Late Latin multiplicitās, which derives from the Latin multiplex, meaning “multiple.” The suffix -ity is used to form abstract nouns that indicate a state or condition.

Multiplicity is most often used to mean “a large variety” (as in a multiplicity of options) or “a large number” (as in a multiplicity of problems). But sometimes multiplicity doesn’t refer to a variety of things but instead to variety in things. You might have heard the popular line from the poet Walt Whitman: “I contain multitudes.” When he said that, he was referring to the multiplicity of human beings’ internal selves—the way our identities are all made up of various pieces and elements, some of which are contradictory.

In psychology, the word multiplicity is used to describe the state experienced by people with dissociative identity disorder (formerly called multiple personality disorder), in which a person experiences multiple selves. In mathematics, multiplicity is used in relation to equations to refer to the number of times a value occurs. In physics, multiplicity refers to the number of levels that the energy of atoms, molecules, or nuclei splits into in certain scenarios, or the number of elementary particles in a group.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to multiplicity?

• multiple (adjective)

What are some synonyms for multiplicity?

• profusion
• abundance
• assortment

What are some words that share a root or word element with multiplicity? 

 

• multiply
• multiplication
• duplicity

What are some words that often get used in discussing multiplicity?

 

• reasons
• elements
• forms
• issues
• identity
• selves

How is multiplicity used in real life?

Multiplicity most commonly means “a great variety,” but using the phrase a great variety (or something similar) is much more common than saying multiplicity. When multiplicity is used, it tends to be used in a somewhat formal or technical way.

infinite thanks to the @nytcooking team for publishing my ten essential Indian recipes, from toor dal to beef kheema, lamb biryani to carrot kosambari — this is a love letter to the multiplicity of Indian home cooking 💌 https://t.co/6KD60eolx2

— Tejal Rao (@tejalrao) March 9, 2020

Yes, we experience multiplicity as an emerging-into-public-awareness form of neurodiversity, a neutral and widely-occuring spectrum of difference that has both challenges and gifts and advantages. Not inherently bad. Diversity is good.

— the Redwoods: a plural collective (@treemunity) April 9, 2018

State elections have far reaching and long standing consequences that affect the moral and social groundwork for its citizens in a multiplicity of ways. Common knowledge – I realize; but as a citizen of the great Commonwealth of #Virginia, it needs to be restated. #VA

— Adam S. Denny (@Adam22Denny) April 12, 2020

 

 

Try using multiplicity!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of multiplicity?

A. variety
B. assortment
C. abundance
D. lack