late 15c., "one who or that which multiplies or increases in number," agent noun from multiply. In arithmetic, "the number by which another is multiplied," 1540s.
Entries linking to multiplier
multiply v.
mid-12c., multeplien, "to cause to become many, cause to increase in number or quantity," from Old French multiplier, mouteplier (12c.) "increase, get bigger; flourish; breed; extend, enrich," from Latin multiplicare "to increase," from multiplex (genitive multiplicis) "having many folds, many times as great in number," from combining form of multus"much, many" (see multi-) + -plex "-fold," from PIE root *plek- "to plait."
Intransitive sense of "grow or increase in number or extent" (especially "to have children, produce offspring") is from mid-14c. Mathematical sense "perform the process of multiplication" is attested from late 14c. Related: Multiplied; multiplying.