multilateral (adj.)

A type of OPPOSITION recognized in PRAGUE SCHOOL PHONOLOGY, distinguished from BILATERAL. The opposition between English /t/ and /v/ is multilateral, because there are several possibilities of CONTRAST involving the same set of FEATURES, e.g. /d/ v. /f/. The opposition between /t/ and /d/, however, is bilateral, because these are the only units in the system which are ALVEOLAR/PLOSIVE, and they are differentiated by the single feature of VOICING.