multiregionaladj.
/ˌmʌltɪˈriːdʒn̩(ə)l/, /ˌmʌltɪˈriːdʒən(ə)l/, U.S. /ˌməltiˈridʒən(ə)l/, /ˌməltiˈridʒn(ə)l/; see also multi- comb. form. 1. Relating to, involving, or derived from a number of different regions.
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1901 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 27 Apr. 1215/1 Kernig's sign can therefore be defined as a uni- or multi-regional contraction, affecting the predominating groups of muscles.
1936 Dunkirk (N.Y.) Evening Observer 12 Aug. 2/2 The national and multi-regional chains depend on tobacco and fountain sales for 45.7 per cent of all sales.
1944 William & Mary Q. 1 324 It is not an easy book to read and digest; multi-regional studies seldom are.
1974 N.Y. Times 30 Nov. 3/4 Archbishop Makarios is ready to discuss a ‘multi-regional federation’ for Cyprus.
2000 Arizona Republic (Electronic ed.) 25 Oct. Last month's AIA Summit 2000, the first multiregional, international conference in the history of the American Institute of Architects.
2. Physical Anthropology. Relating to or designating the theory that the human species, Homo sapiens, evolved in several parts of the world in parallel, genetic exchange generally being supposed to have taken place between different populations.
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1984 M. H. Wolpoff et al. in F. H. Smith & F. Spencer Origins Mod. Humans 446 The multiregional hypothesis..proposes an explanation for the earlier observations of local regional continuity.
1994 Nature 24 Feb. 698/1 Part of his support for multiregional evolution stems from his reanalysis of mitochondrial DNA data.
1997 J. Diamond Guns, Germs & Steel i. 40 If true, that finding would suggest parallel evolution and multiregional origins of modern humans, rather than origins in a single Garden of Eden.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1901