An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

A → hypothetical set of → multiple universes, including our → Universe, that together comprise all of physical reality.

Etymology (EN): Initially coined by William James (1895) “an alternative to universe meant to convey absence of order and unity.” In modern cosmology coined from -verse in → universe, by replacing uni- with
multi- to denote “multiple universes.”

Etymology (PE): Gitigân, from giti, → universe, + -gân multiplicity suffix.