metaverse en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈmɛt.ə.vɝs/ (US)
- /ˈmɛt.ə.vɜːs/ (UK)
- [ˈmɛɾ.ə.vɝs] (US)
- [ˈmeɾ.ə.vɜːs] (Australia)
- /ˈmet.ə.vɜːs/ (Australia)
Etymology
From meta- + (uni)verse. Analyzable as meta- + -verse. In the sci-fi sense coined by American science fiction writer Neal Stephenson in 1992.
Meanings
-
(Internet) A hypothetical future (counterpart or continuation of the) Internet, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space.
Video games like Roblox and Fortnite and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, in which players can build their own worlds, have metaverse tendencies, as does most social media. If you own a non-fungible token or even just some crypto, you’re part of the metaversal experience. Virtual and augmented reality are, at a minimum, metaverse adjacent.
2021 July 10, John Herrman, Kellen Browning, “Are We in the Metaverse Yet?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:The metaverse is the convergence of two ideas that have been around for many years: virtual reality and a digital second life.
2022 January 18, Brian X. Chen, “What’s All the Hype About the Metaverse?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:Hiro walks straight through the display, and it vanishes. Amusement park in the Metaverse can be fantastic, offering a wide selection of interactive three-dimensional movies.
2011 [1992], Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, →ISBN, page 36:It is closer, in other words, to another science fiction vision, the “metaverse” Neal Stephenson envisioned in his 1992 Snow Crash. That particular moniker has not caught on, but many of Stephenson's ideas about what the on-line world can look like are driving a new generation of entrepreneurs to try to match it.
1997 July 7, Zina Moukheiber, “The geeks have inherited the earth”, in Forbes, →ISSN, pages 354–356:In the world of Snow Crash, the metaverse is not viewed as particularly cool—it is necessary, because the real world has become so unbearable.
2021 July 30, Brian Merchant, “The Metaverse Has Always Been a Dystopian Idea”, in VICE:But now, with 350 million players who are used to hanging out in a vibrant, ridiculous online world filled with dancing bananas and cartoon skirmishes, Party Royale could be the experience that finally realises the idea of a playful, mass participation online metaverse.
2020 May 15, Keith Stuart, “Fortnite Party Royale is the most fun you can have in the metaverse”, in The Guardian:
-
(archaic) A set or the composite of all universes.
A single-cycle universe comes to eternal rest. But further instabilities in the virtual energy domain may occur, and some of these may be potent enough to create new universes. The thesis of a metaverse giving rise to local universes is cogent, […]
2003, Ervin Laszlo, The Connectivity Hypothesis, page 108:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| metaverses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
CPS · RR · augmented reality · AR · MR · VR · mixed reality · spatial computing · w:cyber-physical system · virtual reality · IRL · real reality
Deriveds
metaversal · Meta · metaversality · metaversally
Descendants
Relateds
hyperreality · virtual reality · spatial computing · cyberspace · extended reality
Synonyms
metauniverse · multiverse · see others there
Translations (29)
ro metavers (hypothetical future Internet) · pl metaświat (hypothetical future Internet) · ca metavers (hypothetical future Internet) · ka მეტასამყარო (hypothetical future Internet) · bg метавселе́на (hypothetical future Internet) · ko 메타버스 (hypothetical future Internet) · fr métavers (hypothetical future Internet) · fi metaversumi (hypothetical future Internet) · ja メタヴァース (hypothetical future Internet) · cs metaverzum (hypothetical future Internet) · vi siêu vũ trụ (hypothetical future Internet) · sv metaversum (hypothetical future Internet) · vi siêu vũ trụ số (hypothetical future Internet) · hu metaverzum (hypothetical future Internet) · es metaverso (hypothetical future Internet) · kk метаәлем (hypothetical future Internet) · af Metaheelal (hypothetical future Internet) · pt metaverso (hypothetical future Internet) · mk метавселена (hypothetical future Internet) · vi siêu vũ trụ ảo (hypothetical future Internet) · pl metawersum (hypothetical future Internet) · el μετασύμπαν (hypothetical future Internet) · ru метавселе́нная (hypothetical future Internet) · de Metaversum (hypothetical future Internet) · ja メタバース (hypothetical future Internet) · eo metaverso (hypothetical future Internet) · cmn 元宇宙 (hypothetical future Internet) · nl metaversum (hypothetical future Internet) · it metaverso (hypothetical future Internet)