'multi-fold' originates from a combination of Latin and Old English, specifically the Latin prefix 'multi-' from 'multus' and the Old English word 'feald' (later 'fold'), where 'multus' meant 'many' and 'feald' meant 'times' or 'layers'.

'multi-fold' developed from Middle English forms like 'manyfold' and the later influence of the Latin-derived prefix 'multi-'; over time these elements combined into the modern English forms 'multifold' and 'multi-fold'.

Initially it could be used more literally to mean 'having many physical folds'; over time it evolved to the broader figurative sense of 'many, multiple, or occurring many times'.