'multi-' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'multus', where 'multus' meant 'many'; 'page' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'pagina', meaning 'a page of writing or a column of text.'

'page' entered English via Old French 'page' (and Late Latin 'pagina'), ultimately from Latin 'pagina'; 'multi-' is a productive combining form from Latin 'multus' used in Modern English to form compounds such as 'multi-page'. The compound 'multi-page' is a modern English formation combining these elements.

Initially the parts meant 'many' (multi-) and 'page' (pagina), and the compound has straightforwardly come to mean 'having many pages' in modern usage.