multifactorial

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *mel-der.

Proto-Indo-European *-tósder.

Proto-Indo-European *ml̥tós?

Proto-Italic *moltos

Latin multus

Latin multīder.

Middle English multi-

English multi-

Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁k-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁kyéti

Proto-Italic *θakjō

Proto-Italic *fakjō

Latin faciō

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -tor

Latin factorbor.

Middle French facteurbor.

▲

Latin factorbor.

Anglo-Norman factourbor.

Middle English factour

English factor

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālisder.

Old French -ialder.

Middle English -ial

English -ial

English factorial

English multifactorial

From multi- + factorial.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔːɹiəl

Adjective

multifactorial (not comparable)

1. Involving, or controlled by multiple factors.
   • 1989 August 19, Bob Lederer, “Hiding Behind HIV”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 6, page 8:

     […] a pattern in medical research on infectious and degenerative diseases in the United States. That pattern shows three main built-in biases: 1) towards a single-agent theory of disease, as opposed to a multi-factorial analysis; 2) […]

   • 2021 February 2, Katharine Murphy, The Guardian‎^[1], archived from the original on 25 April 2022:

     One of the under-reported dynamics during the coronavirus pandemic has been the collapse of One Nation’s vote. The reasons for this are likely multi-factorial.

   • 2025 September 12, Jacqueline Howard, Deidre McPhillips, “In meeting with RFK Jr., CEO of Tylenol maker stresses there is no clear link between medication and autism, WSJ reports”, in CNN‎^[2], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 2 October 2025:

     “Neurodevelopmental disorders, in particular, are multifactorial and very difficult to associate with a singular cause. Pregnant patients should not be frightened away from the many benefits of acetaminophen, which is safe and one of the few options pregnant people have for pain relief.”

2. (genetics, of a trait) Involving multiple genetic or environmental factors.

Derived terms

• multifactoriality
• multifactorially

Translations

Translations

• Russian: многофа́кторный (ru) (mnogofáktornyj)
• Spanish: multifactorial

Noun

multifactorial (plural multifactorials)

1. (mathematics) A generalization of a factorial in which each element to be multiplied differs from the next by an integer (e.g. n(n-3)(n-6)(n-9)...).

See also

• monofactorial

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *mel-der.

Proto-Indo-European *-tósder.

Proto-Indo-European *ml̥tós?

Proto-Italic *moltos

Latin multusder.

Spanish multi-

French factoriellebor.

Spanish factorial

Spanish multifactorial

From multi- + factorial.

Adjective

multifactorial m or f (masculine and feminine plural multifactoriales)

1. multifactorial

Further reading

• “multifactorial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026