Polydromic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a pattern or sequence that can progress or occur in multiple directions or ways simultaneously
2. Characterizing something capable of moving or extending in several diverse paths or modes at the same time
3. Pertaining to an entity or process exhibiting multiple directional flows or multifaceted developmental routes concurrently

Etymology: Greek "dromos" meant a course or racetrack, from "dramein," "to run." The same root gives "hippodrome," a horse-racing course, and "dromedary," the swift one-humped camel, from "dromas," "runner." Add "poly-," meaning "many," and you get a term for something that runs along many courses at once. Palindrome shares this root. Its Greek form, "palindromos," meant "running back again," which suits a sequence that reads the same in both directions. This term, though, is a technical coinage built from classical parts, not something the Greeks used for the many-pathed idea. It is most often applied to mathematical and physical systems that can extend along several distinct routes.