bootstrap paradox

[ boot-strap par-uh-doks ]

noun

1. (in science fiction) a closed loop created by time travel in which a person or object is sent back in time and the resulting timeline unfolds in such a way that, at its conclusion, that person or object is sent back in time, once again setting off the timeline of events resulting in their being sent back in time, in an infinite causal loop: The initial origin of the person or object before the first cycle of the closed time loop remains unknown.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bootstrap paradox¹

First recorded in 1945–50