Multiveined

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having a large number of visible veins, especially in a leaf, wing, or on the surface of the skin
2. Marked by many conspicuous veins or streaks running through a surface such as stone, wood, or a leaf
3. Displaying numerous prominent veins, as in a leaf, insect wing, or marbled stone and flesh

Etymology: "Multiveined" is a plain compound: the Latin-derived prefix "multi-", meaning "many", joined to "veined", which describes something marked with veins. Together they describe a thing with many veins, such as a leaf, a marble slab, or the wing of an insect. The prefix does the same work it does in words like "multicoloured" or "multistorey": it attaches to an existing English adjective to add the sense of abundance, without changing the core meaning. "Veined" itself comes from "vein", which entered English from Old French "veine", ultimately from Latin "vena", meaning a blood vessel or channel. The word therefore pairs a Latin prefix with a Latin-derived root, both passed into English through a long series of borrowings.