When did “several” become “multiple?”
By“I phoned him multiple times.”
“The building has multiple exits.”
Not so long ago, the “multiple” in these sentences would have read “several.”
“I phoned him several times.”
“The building has several exits.”
Somehow, while we were not really paying attention, “multiple” stole into our language and displaced “several” in a bloodless coup.
The question is why. I think we can blame police language, as in the “victim was shot multiple times.”
And I think we know what’s happening here. Police spokespeople like to dress their remarks in extra dignity and they do this by reaching for their “best” vocabulary. People become persons or perpetrators. Guns become firearms. And they are not fired; they are “discharged.” The victim has multiple wounds. It just sounds more official, more commanding, more large and in charge. Don’t worry. Your city is safe with us.
In the case of “I phoned him multiple times,” the speaker signals a certain impatience. As if there is an absolute limit to the number of times we should have to phone someone and that limit has been reached. Damnit!
Why should we want to sound more official, more in control? Why should we want to sound more bureaucratic. Especially when the rest of the culture is becoming both more informal and more playful. Why, exactly, would we want to resemble police spokespeople. I have no answers here. Only vexing, cultural questions.
interesting, think it has something to do with the growing need for immediacy?
I agree, but here’s why.
Several could mean 3 to 4 or more.
Multiple can make 2 sound like 8.
Dramatic effect caused by exaggeration.
It sounds like 1000 times better that way.
Between the increase in real life news coverage of murders, and the dozens of TV show police procedurals, people have been exposed to this terminology repeatedly.
Rick, er and multiple times. Grant
Ryan, thanks a million, no a billion! It does sound better. Grant
Or, consider: though both “multiple” and “several” have a Latinate etymology, “multiple” sounds more obviously Latinate.
When did “a few” become several? What’s the difference between “multiple” and “many,” rather than several? Or does “multiple” mean more than several but fewer than many?
one, a couple, several, many, lots, lots and lots, tons, countless, innumerable, in that order, always in that order.
The era of jargon to show authority makes me want to jump off a cliff. Multiple times. Don’t the police eventually have the actual number? Wouldn’t saying the victim was shot 5 times be better than multiple times? Leave the nonsense up to the “news” organizations.
A list of multiple words that make me crazy: synergy, metrics, operationalize, “wheels up”, leading edge…
Continue this list at your own peril, you could waste hours.
Perhaps it is related to the loss of deference in society.
In the past the police would automatically be respected, but that is no longer the case, and so they are assuming a more legalistic vocabulary to shore up their eroding authority.
In the past if teenagers were cheeky to the police the police would probably hit them (as they still do in France).
Nowdays they are not allowed to hit anybody (not even criminals) and so they resort to language to assert their dignity.
Andrew, well said, legalistic vocabulary, the phrase I was searching for. Thx, Grant
Jason, perfect, thanks, Grant
I read the blog multiple times and have some thoughts – several actually.
SI, thats the right direction! Thx, Grant
Did you notice…
one, a couple, several, many, lots and lots, tons, countless, innumerable — they all have a warmth, a common resonance.
“multiple” is mathematic, edu-jargonic, an attempt to sound more educated than perhaps one really is. Truly sad. It creates a barrier — and as McCracken suggests, it’s police-speak, bureaucratic.
Can’t we use language that warms us, unites us, makes connections between us all? We should try harder to communicate as people, not as individuals cast in roles.
I think multiple is more vague and therefore less risky than several.
Laurie, very well said (and not at all edu-jargonic)!
Why do we want to sound more official and in control especially when the rest of the culture is becoming both more informal and more playful? Because sometimes we want to be “them” and sometimes we want to be “us.” We’re flexible, so we can be whatever we want to be just by the flip of a word. Nice observation.
Tom, excellent, we are mobile even when seeking to be immobile! Thanks,, Grant
Perhaps there has been an explosion lately in math majors. To us, multiple means n>1