Meaning

noun a pipe that has several lateral outlets to or from other pipes

noun a lightweight paper used with carbon paper to make multiple copies

noun a set of points such as those of a closed surface or an analogue in three or more dimensions

originFrom Middle English manifold, from Old English maniġfeald (“manifold, various, varied, complicated, numerous, abundant, plural”), from Proto-Germanic *managafalþaz, equivalent to many + -fold. Cognate with Middle High German manecvalt (“manifold”), Icelandic margfaldr (“multiple”). Compare also German mannigfaltig (“various”), Dutch menigvoudig (“various”), Danish mangefold (“multiple”), Swedish…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0