multilateral

[muhl-ti-lat-er-uhl] Origin

mul·ti·lat·er·al

[muhl-ti-lat-er-uhl]
adjective
1.
having several or many sides; many-sided.
2.
participated in by more than two nations, parties, etc.; multipartite: multilateral agreements on disarmament.

Origin:
1690–1700; multi- + lateral

mul·ti·lat·er·al·ism, noun
mul·ti·lat·er·al·ist, adjective, noun
mul·ti·lat·er·al·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Multilateral has a plethora of syllables.
So is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane. Does it mean:
a white, crystalline, water-insoluble solid, C14H9Cl5, usually derived from chloral by reaction with chlorobenzene in the presence of fuming sulfuric acid: used as an insecticide and as a scabicide and pediculicide: agricultural use prohibited in the U.S.
the estimation of something as valueless (encountered mainly as an example of one of the longest words in the English language).
Collins
World English Dictionary
multilateral (ˌmʌltɪˈlætərəl, -ˈlætrəl)
 
adj
1.  of or involving more than two nations or parties: a multilateral pact
2.  having many sides
 
multi'laterally
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

multilateral
1690s, "having many sides," from multi- + L. latus (gen. lateris) "side" (see oblate (n.)). Meaning "pertaining to three or more countries" is from 1802. Multilateralism is first recorded 1928.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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