Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| filk n. (1953) | among science fiction and fantasy fans: a type of popular music, commonly performed at fan conventions, characterized by the use of familiar or traditional songs whose lyrics have been rewritten or parodied (usually on themes drawn from science fiction or fantasy literature) |
| filk v. (1978) | among science fiction and fantasy fans: to write or perform filk songs |
| filker n. (1981) | one who sings filk songs; = filk singer n. |
| filking n. (1983) | among science fiction and fantasy fans: the writing or performing of filk songs |
| filksing n. (1968) | a session or event of filk singing |
| filk singer n. (1979) | one who sings filk songs |
| filksinging n. (1965) | the singing of filk songs |
| filk song n. (1953) | a song in the filk style |
| fillo n. (1959) | a small illustration used to fill space, esp. in a fanzine |
| first contact n. (1945) | the first meeting between two different intelligent species |
| fix-up n. (1975) | a novel constructed from shorter material written separately |
| flame gun n. (1934) | a gun (esp. a handgun) that shoots flames; cf. earlier flame pistol n. |
| flame pistol n. (1930) | a pistol that shoots flames; cf. flame gun n. |
| flash crowd n. (2005) | a sudden increase in the number of visitors viewing a (small or niche) website, esp. after the site has been mentioned in a more prominent venue |
| Flash Gordon adj. (1938) | = science fictional adj.; (specif.) characteristic of hackneyed or dated science fiction; Buck Rogers adj. |
| fleet n. (1898) | = space fleet n. |
| flitter n. (1941) | a small usu. short-range aircraft or spaceship |
| floater n. (1928) | a vehicle or device powered by antigravity; (specif.) an antigravity platform that flies relatively close to the ground |
| 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 |
| food pill n. (1885) | an edible item providing a person’s complete nutritional needs in compact form |
| 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 |