Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| energy screen n. (1932) | a barrier made of or against energy; a force field n. |
| energy vampire n. (1967) | a being that feeds on energy (in various senses) |
| energy weapon n. (1941) | a weapon that fires a beam of energy; cf. earlier energy gun n. |
| epic fantasy n. (1961) | = high fantasy n. |
| escape pod n. (1976) | a small, minimally equipped spacecraft for emergency use; = lifeboat n. |
| escape ship n. (1932) | = lifeboat n.; lifeship n. |
| esp v. (1949) | to use extrasensory powers (on); as: to communicate with (a person) telepathically; to send (a message) telepathically; to analyze (a person, place, etc.) using extrasensory powers |
| esper n. (1942) | a person or being with extrasensory powers |
| ET n. (1939) | = alien n. |
| ether ship n. (1883) | a spaceship |
| Europan n. 1 (1930) | a native or inhabitant of the Jovian moon Europa |
| Europan n. 2 (1930) | the language of Europans |
| Europan adj. (1931) | of or relating to the Jovian moon Europa or its inhabitants |
| everywhen n. (1942) | (in time-travel contexts) all points in time |
| everywhen adv. (1943) | (in time-travel contexts) in or to all points in time |
| extraterrestrial n. (1939) | an (intelligent) being that is not from Earth |
| extraterrestrial adj. (1854) | existing or originating outside the earth or its atmosphere |
| eyetracks n. (1952) | imaginary marks left on a book by the act of reading it |
| faan n. (1953) | a science fiction fan, esp. one regarded as non-serious, or devoted more to fandom than to science fiction itself; cf. sercon adj. |
| faanish adj. (1959) | of or relating to fandom, esp. on a superficial level; typical of a faan n. |
| face plate n. (1930) | the transparent window of a spacesuitβs helmet |
| fan v. (1941) | to participate in fandom; cf. slightly earlier fanning n. |
| fanac n. (1952) | participation in fandom, such as publishing fanzines, attending conferences, or writing letters to fanzines |
| fanarchist n. (1942) | a fan who shuns organized fandom; a fan who advocates for individual or small-group activities |
| fanarchistic adj. (1944) | preferring to avoid organized forms of fandom |
| fanboy n. (1919) | a male fan (in later use chiefly of comics, film, music, or science fiction), esp. an obsessive one |
| fandom n. (1936) | science-fiction fans collectively; the state or attitude of being a science-fiction fan |
| fanfic n. (1968) | = fan fiction n. |
| fan fiction n. (1938) | fiction, usually fantasy or science fiction, written by a fan rather than a professional author, esp. that based on already-existing characters from a television series, book, film, etc.; (also) a piece of such writing |
| fan film n. (1961) | a movie made by a fan; audiovisual fan fiction n. |
| fangirl n. (1934) | a female fan (chiefly of comics, film, music, or science fiction), esp. an obsessive one |
| fangirl v. (2003) | esp. of a girl or woman: to exhibit extreme devotion (to) or excitement (about); to act like a fangirl n. |
| fankind n. (1940) | fans, considered collectively |
| fanmag n. (1928) | a magazine for fans; (specif.) = fanzine n. |
| fanne n. (1942) | a female fan |
| fanning n. (1940) | the practice or activity of being a fan; participation in fandom |