In linear logic multiplicative disjunction is often called par.
This terminology goes back at least to Girard's seminal text Linear logic. I vaguely remember that I read that "par" is an abbreviation for "parallel“. If so, why? Does anyone know the etymology of the term?
EDIT: In Linear logic and parallelism Girard calls par the "parallel connective".
Best Answer
That's right; 'par' is from 'parallelisation'. The following two quotes from Girard may be illuminative about the significance of parallelisation in linear logic:
[Linear Logic in Theoretical Computer Science 50, 1987, p. 3]
[emphases in the original, Proofs and Types, 2003 Web edition, p. 154]
See also Di Cosmo and Miller's article Linear Logic.