grandfather paradox

English

Etymology

From the paradox proposed by the French author René Barjavel in 1944 in his book Le Voyageur Imprudent, translated into English as "Future Times Three"; in its original form the paradox of one person going back to the past and killing their biological grandfather before the latter fathered the traveler's father, thus preventing the time traveler from ever being conceived in the first place.

Noun

grandfather paradox (plural grandfather paradoxes)

1. The paradox of time travel in which inconsistencies emerge through changing the past.

Translations

type of paradox

• Finnish: isoisäparadoksi
• German: Großvaterparadoxon n, Großvater-Paradoxon n
• Japanese: 祖父殺しのパラドックス
• Mongolian: алагдсан өвөөгийн парадокс (alagdsan övöögiin paradoks), өвөөгийн парадокс (övöögiin paradoks)
• Russian: парадо́кс уби́того де́душки (ru) m (paradóks ubítovo déduški)

See also

• autoinfanticide