METAVERSE

What Does METAVERSE Mean in a Text?

The Quick Answer

The METAVERSE is a convergence of physical, augmented, and virtual reality.

More Detail...

The metaverse is an online world that transcends individual tech platforms, where people can work, play, study, create, explore, shop, communicate and hang out in an interconnected virtual environment. It is a combination of the words meta (i.e., going beyond, transcending) and universe. The metaverse is far more than just enhanced VR or AR. It aims to offer a completely immersive experience, in which users will be represented by customizable 3D avatars. The avatars will be able to interact with others and could represent the user in activities such as attending concerts and sports events, test driving cars, and visiting virtual shops to try on clothes for actual purchase. Facebook and Epic Games (the makers of the popular game Fortnite) are leading voices on the concept of the metaverse. In October 2021, Facebook announced that it was planning to hire 10,000 people in the European Union to develop the metaverse, but that it still expects the idea will take another 10 to 15 years to be fully realized. Whether one expansive metaverse will evolve is not only a technical issue, it will also depend on collaboration between the tech giants, such as Facebook, Google, Apple and Epic (and new players yet to emerge), as well as on government regulation to protect the interests of users.

Image for METAVERSE

When I write METAVERSE, I mean this:

The metaverse will be much more than virtual or augmented reality.

Summary of Key Points

"Convergence of Physical, Augmented, and Virtual Reality" is, by far, the most common meaning for METAVERSE when it is used in a text. (Bear in mind that it could have another meaning if used in a different context.)

METAVERSE
Definition:	Convergence of Physical, Augmented, and Virtual Reality
Type:	Word
Guessability:	3: Guessable
Typical Users:	Adults and Teenagers

An Academic Look at METAVERSE

As it is formed by merging two words into one, metaverse is a portmanteau word. It is a combination of the words meta (as in going beyond, transcending) and universe. Metaverse can also be considered a neologism (i.e., a newly coined word or term which has emerged into everyday usage). A neologism can be:

A completely new word (e.g., metaverse, oversharers).
A new combination of existing words (e.g., digital detox).
A new meaning for an existing word (e.g., sick).

Some neologisms are formally accepted into mainstream language (at which point, they cease to be neologisms), and some wither until they can longer be considered everyday terms.