'multiple-flowering' originates from Modern English as a compound of 'multiple' + 'flowering', where 'multiple' meant 'consisting of many parts or elements' and 'flowering' meant 'producing flowers'.

'multiple' comes from Latin 'multiplex' (via Old French/Medieval Latin), with the prefix 'multi-' meaning 'many'; 'flower' derives from Old English 'flor'/'flōwer' and ultimately from Latin 'flos, floris' (through Old French 'flor'), and 'flowering' is the present-participle/gerund form developed in Middle/Modern English; these elements were compounded in Modern English to form 'multiple-flowering'.

Initially, the elements individually referred to 'many' and 'producing flowers'; combined as 'multiple-flowering' in modern usage it specifically denotes a plant trait of bearing multiple flowers (often repeatedly) rather than any broader 'many' sense.