[‘ Of a maze or labyrinth: having more than one possible route between the centre and the outside. Also fig.']
Pronunciation: Brit. /ˌmʌltɪˈkəːsl/, U.S. /ˌməltiˈkərs(ə)l/; see also multi- comb. form.
Etymology: < multi- comb. form + -cursal (in unicursal adj. and n.). Compare earlier bicursal adj.
Of a maze or labyrinth: having more than one possible route between the centre and the outside. Also fig.
1922 W. H. Matthews /Mazes & Labyrinths/ xxi. 184 There is no reason why we should not apply the adjective ‘unicursal’..to denote those figures which consist of a single unbranched path, using the term ‘multicursal’ as its complement, or antonym.
1922 W. H. Matthews /Mazes & Labyrinths/ xxi. 185 The Hampton Court maze..may serve as the type of a compact and the Versailles example..that of a diffuse multicursal labyrinth.
1936 W. F. J. Knight /Cumaean Gates/ iv. 60 With alternatives, the pattern is ‘multicursal’; without them, ‘unicursal’.
1976 J. Bord /Mazes & Labyrinths of World/ i. 9 ‘Maze’ suggests to me a multicursal design where confusion arises.
1988 W. B. Faris /Labyrinths of Lang./ iv. 86 The reader’s progress through these labyrinths of language thus forms a multicursal pattern.
1996 F. Popcorn & L. Marigold /Clicking/ ii. 217 Why not think of the network as being made up of more complex diagrams and directional veers: multi-cursal mazes, connect-the-dots, cross-currents, winding pathways, concentric circles, and pentagrams.