Dictionary of Space Concepts

Source: Midjourney (2023, May 24). Artistic AI Illustration of the Big Bang. midjourney. midjourney.com

According to the Big Bang Theory, this is the starting point of the known, observable universe, when a rapid expansion of matter took place.

According to the standard cosmological model (Big Bang Theory), the Big Bang occurred about 13.8 billion years ago. The model describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature, and offers an explanation for a broad range of observed phenomena, like the lighter elements, such as hydrogen and helium.

Etymology:

From English big “of considerable size or extent” and bang “to (cause something to) make a sudden very loud noise or noises.”

The term was introduced in 1948 by the British astronomer Fred Hoyle. In a radio broadcast, Mr Hoyle made disparaging remarks about the hypothesis of the expanding universe and mocked its starting point as the "big bang", without suspecting that he was giving birth to a term that would become part of humankind's common vocabulary.

Translations:

• French: Big Bang (masc.) – [biɡ.bɑ̃ɡ]
  
• German: Urknall (masc.) – [ˈuːɐ̯ˌknal]
  
• Polish: Wielki Wybuch (masc.) – [ˈvjɛl.ki ˈvɨ.bux]
• Portuguese: Big Bang (masc.) – [biɡ.bɑ̃ɡ]
• Russian: Большой взрыв (masc.) – [bɐlʲˈʂoɪ̯ vzrɨf]
  
• Swedish: Big Bang – [biɡ.bɑ̃ɡ]