multiverse

What it means

1. human sciencesThe world, considered as lacking in purpose, design, or predictability.

   Visible nature is all plasticity and indifference, a multiverse, as one might call it, and not a universe.

   1895 October, William James, “Is Life Worth Living?”, in International Journal of Ethics, page 10

   1 more example

   I've never gone through a place like Racine without thinking which house with the rubber-tire swing for kids and piano-practicing inside was like Stiva Lausch's, who had two daughters brought up with every refinement, including piano lessons, and how such little-speaking Odessa-bred sons had gotten on a track like this through the multiverse.

   1953 September 18, Saul Bellow, chapter VI, in The Adventures of Augie March […], New York, N.Y.: The Viking Press, →OCLC, pages 94–95

2. astronomyThe hypothetical group of all the possible universes in existence.

   Our universe is a very small part of the multiverse.

   3 more examples

   And, it must be remembered, that in the great multiverse they were a mere scattering of seeds; seeds that must survive many elements if they were to grow.

   1963 May, Michael Moorcock, “The Blood Red Game”, in Science Fiction Adventures, volume 6, number 32, London: Nova Publications

   I have been describing show us that the multiverse exists and that it contains many counterparts of each particle in the tangible universe. To reach the further conclusion that the multiverse is roughly partitioned into parallel universes, we must consider interference phenomena involving more than one tangible particle.

   1998 [1997], David Deutsch, The Fabric of Reality, New York: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 46

   I can’t help feeling that in the closest arm of the multiverse, there is a version of me that is fatter and happier.

   2020, Raven Leilani, Luster, Picador, published 2021, page 26

   Synonyms: maniverse, meta-universe, metauniverse, metaverse, pluriverse, superverse

3. fictionThe different canons, continuities or timelines of a fictional property, considered as a whole.

   In the DC multiverse, our reality is called "Earth-33". But in the Marvel multiverse, it's "Earth-1218".

   1 more example

   What’s better than a Marvel Cinematic Universe? A Marvel Cinematic Multiverse. Once limited to theoretical physics and comic-book plot conveniences, the notion of a multiverse has been an essential tool for Hollywood. Whether it’s a role that’s been cast and recast, a franchise character that gets a spin-off when the larger story ends, or simply a reboot telling a new story without upending its origins, the answer to any big movie problem is often: multiverse.

   2022 April 23, Kevin Townsend, Shirley Li, David Sims, Spencer Kornhaber, “Everything Everywhere All at Once Is Multiverse Storytelling at Its Best”, in The Atlantic

In a sentence

Visible nature is all plasticity and indifference, a multiverse, as one might call it, and not a universe.

1895 October, William James, “Is Life Worth Living?”, in International Journal of Ethics, page 10

Where it comes from

First appeared c. 1895. Blend of multiple + universe, coined by American philosopher William James. By surface analysis, multi- + -verse.