-verse suffix

(used to form nouns denoting the fictional universe used as the setting of a series (or occasionally a work), typically in combination with the title, main character, or creator of the series)

[< universe]

SF Criticism

  • [1984 Recurring Plot Devices in net.tv.drwho (Usenet newsgroup) 2 Apr.

    The robots of the Dr. Whoniverse are being catalogued very nicely.]

  • 1985 Latest issue of ROM (99?) drawn by Ditko! in net.comics (Usenet newsgroup) 23 Jan.

    It seems to me that Ditko is more of a menace to the marvelverse than the dire waiths ever were.

  • 1996 H. Lee An intrsinically hypothetical take/tale on "SYZYGY" (etc.) in alt.tv.x-files (Usenet newsgroup) 30 Jan. page image

    It is more than likely that these ‘external observers’ gauge and interact more directly with the Carterverse than we were originally led to believe from our measurements.

  • 1997 Entertainment Weekly Mar. 7 41/2

    Sexuality isn’t the only thing Xena plays fast and loose with. In chronicling the exploits of the babelicious leather and metal-clad crusader, executive producers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert adopted the campy, irreverent signature they used to comic effect in their Evil Dead film trilogy. In the Xenaverse—”the name given to the show’s timeless sense of place by its devotees—history is bunk. Characters spout Shakespearean platitudes one minute, Brooklynese wisecracks the next.

  • 1998 N. E. Genge Buffy Chronicles 62

    No demon willingly returns to a scene where one of its kind, and in the Buffyverse that would include vampires, died.

  • 2003 C. J. Carella Angel Roleplaying Game Corebook 5/1

    Unlike any other kind of game, your group’s story can take you, the characters, and the Angelverse anywhere you want it to.

  • 2004 Sunday Times 11 Jan. (Culture) 8/4

    The trap has been set by his corporate pals, because, frankly, since Buffy dusted her final ‘big, bad’™ last summer, the scene has not been rockin' in the Jossiverse.

  • 2017 SFX (#283) Mar. 51 page image

    Star Wars… The House of Mouse [sc. Disney] owns the Lucasverse.


Research requirements

antedating 1985

Earliest cite

Usenet

Research History
The suffix is usually affixed to a form of the name of the series or universe ("Marvelverse" or "Trekverse"), the principal character ("Enderverse"), or the universe's creator ("Jossiverse", after Joss Whedon, creator of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel').

Malcolm Farmer submitted a 2003 cite for the forms "Buffyverse" and "Faithverse" from an article in SFX.
Malcolm Farmer submitted a 2002 cite from the Baen CD-ROM Library's Honorverse Disk.
Jeff Wolfe submitted 2003 cites from an article in Reason.
Susan Francis submitted 2001 cites from Roz Kaveney and Ian Shuttleworth in "Reading the Vampire Slayer".
Jeff Wolfe submitted a 1998 cite from N.E. Genge's "The Buffy Chronicles".
Jeff Wolfe submitted a 2002 cite for the form "Enderverse" from Orson Scott Card's "First Meetings: Three Stories from the Enderverse".
Katrina Campbell submitted a 2004 cite for the form "Jossiverse" from the (London) Times.
Jeff Wolfe submitted a 2003 cite for the form "Angelverse" from the Angel Roleplaying Game Corebook.
Patrick Broadhurst submitted a 1998 cite from Robert Weisbrot’s, "Xena, Warrior Princess: The Official Guide to the Xenaverse". Patrick Broadhurst submitted a 1997 cite for "Xenaverse" from Entertainment Weekly.

Katrina Campbell located cites for "Trekverse" on Usenet from 1990 and Jeff Prucher located cites for "Marvelverse" on Usenet from 1985, which suggest that this suffix may have been used earlier in fanzines or lettercolumns. We would like to locate any earlier print citations.

Last modified 2023-06-20 14:31:38
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.