Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| flux capacitor n. (1981) | in the film Back to the Future and its sequels: the core component of the time machine made of a DeLorean automobile |
| flying saucer n. (1947) | any of various unidentified disc- or saucer-shaped objects reported as appearing in the sky, presumed to be of extraterrestrial origin; (hence) a saucer-shaped alien spacecraft |
| Force n. (1974) | (with the) in the fictional universe of the Star Wars franchise: a mystical universal energy field which certain individuals, such as the Jedi, can harness to gain special powers or abilities |
| force beam n. (1929) | = tractor beam n.; = pressor beam n. |
| force field n. (1931) | a field of energy that acts as an invisible barrier; cf. shield n. |
| force screen n. (1932) | = force field n. |
| frak v. (1978) | (a euphemism for) fuck, in various senses and parts of speech |
| Franken- prefix (1967) | (used to form nouns in the sense ‘created or modified by scientific techniques, esp. genetic engineering’) |
| Frankenstein complex n. (1947) | Isaac Asimov’s term for: the anxiety and distrust humans feel for robots |
| free fall n. (1931) | a condition of weightlessness |
| fresher n. (1940) | a bathroom or shower |
| ftl adj. (1950) | = faster-than-light adj. |
| ftl adv. (1950) | = faster than light adv. |
| fugghead n. (1949) | a stupid, obnoxious, or incompetent person |
| fuggheaded adj. (1949) | stupid; obnoxious; incompetent |
| fuggheadedness n. (1949) | the quality of being stupid, obnoxious, or incompetent |
| future history n. (1937) | a fictional, self-contained, consistent, chronological framework (esp. realized across a body of work); (also) the subgenre of science fiction that uses such a framework |
| future war n. (1931) | a subgenre of science fiction dealing with warfare and how it will be practiced in the future |
| gadget story n. (1942) | a story in which the primary focus is on inventions or the process of inventing |
| gafia n. 1 (1940) | participation in fandom |
| gafia n. 2 (1950) | the state of having quit fandom (cf. earlier gafia n. 1); cf. gafiation n. |
| gafiate n. (1956) | a person who has quit fandom; one who has gafiated |
| gafiate v. (1959) | to cease involvement with science fiction fandom |
| gafiation n. (1959) | the state of having quit fandom; cf. gafia n. 2 |
| galactic n. 1 (1942) | an inhabitant of the galaxy; a member of a galaxy-wide civilization |
| Galactic n. 2 (1954) | a language commonly spoken throughout the galaxy; cf. Standard n. |
| galactographer n. (1965) | one who maps the physical structure of galaxies; an expert in galactography n. |
| galactographic adj. (1950) | relating to galactography n. |
| galactography n. (1950) | the science of mapping celestial objects within galaxies |
| galaxy-wide adj. (1937) | extending throughout a galaxy |
| galaxy-wide adv. (1949) | throughout a galaxy |
| gamer n. (1973) | a participant in a war-game or role-playing game; a player or creator of such games |
| Ganymedian n. (1931) | a native or inhabitant of Ganymede, the largest satellite of Jupiter |
| Ganymedian adj. (1931) | of, relating to, or from Ganymede, the largest satellite of Jupiter |
| gas giant n. (1952) | a large planet composed mostly of gaseous material thought to surround a solid core; spec. each of the four largest planets in the solar system (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) |