paranormal
/ˌpærəˈnɔːrməl/
adjective
Origin
Modern English derivation
para- + normal — beside/beyond + standard/regular
Overview
Meaning Now
- Denoting events or phenomena, such as telekinesis or ghosts, that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding.
Literal older meaning
beside or beyond the normal
Language path
Greek → Latin → English
Earliest form
paranormal
Earliest period
early 20th century
Journey
The term emerged alongside the rise of 19th and early 20th-century spiritualism and psychical research. It was popularized by researchers seeking a term that avoided the supernatural or superstitious connotations of 'occult' or 'miraculous', favoring instead a classification that suggested these phenomena might be observable, even if not currently explainable by conventional physics.
Evolution
- Ancient Greek
para-
“beside, beyond”
Prefix used to denote something outside or secondary to a main concept.
- Late Latin
normalis
“made according to a square, regular”
Derived from norma (carpenter's square).
- 20th Century English
paranormal
“outside the range of normal scientific explanation”
Coined to describe psychical research phenomena.
Connections
Word parts
para-
prefix
beyond, beside
norm
root
pattern or standard
-al
suffix
of the kind of
Related across languages
French
paranormal
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Related to paranormal
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.