Standard Lemma guide

paracosm

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈpæɹəˌkɒz(ə)m/
  • General-American: /ˈpæɹəˌkɑz(ə)m/
  • /ˈpɛɹəˌkɑz(ə)m/ Mary–marry–merry merger
  • General-American: Mmmm Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A detailed imaginary world, especially one created by a child.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: conworld, paracosmos

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a prolonged fantasy world invented by children; can have a definite geography and language and history

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fantasy world, phantasy world, fairyland

History

Etymology

From English para- (prefix meaning ‘alongside, beside’) (from Ancient Greek παρα- (para-, prefix meaning ‘beside’)) + English cosm(os) (“universe”) (from Ancient Greek κόσμος (kósmos, “the earth, world; universe”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱems-, *ḱens- (“to put in order”)).

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Danish: parakosme — detailed imaginary world
  • Finnish: mielikuvitusmaailma — detailed imaginary world
  • Greek: παράκοσμος (parákosmos) — detailed imaginary world
  • Greek: παραμυθοχώρα (paramythochóra) — detailed imaginary world
  • Polish: parakosmos — detailed imaginary world
  • Portuguese: paracosmo — detailed imaginary world
  • Spanish: paracosmos — detailed imaginary world