Where does “parallel universe” come from?
parallel universe (English) comes from English parallel, from Middle French parallèle, from Latin parallēlus, from Ancient Greek παράλληλος, from Ancient Greek ἀλλήλων, from Ancient Greek ἄλλος, from Ancient Greek κρίνω, from Proto-Hellenic kríňňō — to sift, separate, divide.
parallel universe (English): A universe that exists separately alongside...
Definitions
- A universe that exists separately alongside...
Ancestry of “parallel universe”, step by step
parallel universe traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English parallel
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | parallel | Equally distant from one another at all points;... |
| 2 | Middle French | parallèle | — |
| 3 | Latin | parallēlus | parallel |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | παράλληλος | beside one another, side-by-side; parallel to or... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | ἀλλήλων | referring back to a plural subject, and... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | ἄλλος | other, another, different, else; in combination... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | κρίνω | To separate, divide, part, distinguish between... |
| 8 | Proto-Hellenic | kríňňō | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | krinyéti | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | krey- | to sift, separate, divide |
via English universe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | universe | The sum of everything that exists in the cosmos,... |
| 2 | Middle English | universe | The universe; the stars |
| 3 | Old French | univers | the whole world; the whole Earth; universal;... |
| 4 | Latin | ūniversum | — |
| 5 | Latin | versus | turned, changed, having been turned; towards,... |
| 6 | Latin | vertō | to turn, turn oneself, direct one's way, to turn about, turn around, revolve |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | wertō | to turn |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wert- | to turn, to rotate |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |