Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological ( asc | desc )
First date | Word | Definition |
---|---|---|
1931 | teleportation n. (1931) | instantaneous transportation from one place to another, esp. by means of a machine which breaks matter down into its constituent particles or converts it to energy, information, etc., and transmits it in this form to another location where it is reconstituted |
1931 | thought-reading machine n. (1931) | a machine that can read a personβs thoughts |
1931 | thought screen n. (1931) | = thought shield n. |
1931 | thought shield n. (1931) | a mental barrier that prevents oneβs thoughts from being read by a telepath; = mind shield n. |
1931 | timestream n. (1931) | the sequence of all events in time, considered notionally as a flow capable of being altered to form different timelines |
1931 | time track n. (1931) | = timeline n. |
1931 | Titanian adj. (1931) | of or relating to the Saturnian moon of Titan or its inhabitants; (rarely) of or relating to the Uranian moon Titania or its inhabitants |
1931 | Titanian n. (1931) | a native or inhabitant of the Saturnian moon Titan; (rarely) a native or inhabitant of the Uranian moon Titania |
1931 | tractor n. (1931) | = tractor beam n. |
1931 | tractor beam n. (1931) | an energy beam that causes the target to be moved or immobilized in space; (also, in early use) a device producing such a beam |
1931 | tractor field n. (1931) | = tractor beam n. |
1931 | tractor ray n. (1931) | = tractor beam n. |
1931 | transdimensional adj. (1931) | designating movement between dimensions; involving more than one dimension |
1931 | Venusian n. 2 (1931) | the language of Venusians |
1931 | visor screen n. (1931) | = viewscreen n. |
1931 | wallscreen n. (1931) | a large wall-mounted video display |
1932 | adult fantasy n. (1932) | fantasy intended for adults rather than children |
1932 | alternative future n. (1932) | = alternate future n. |
1932 | areological adj. (1932) | of, pertaining to, or derived from areology n.; such as is described, investigated, or ascertained by areology |
1932 | astrogating n. (1932) | = astrogation n. |
1932 | atomics n. 1 (1932) | any device powered by nuclear energy, esp. a nuclear-powered engine |
1932 | automatics n. (1932) | a system that controls the flight of a spacecraft with little or no human intervention; any system or technology for the unsupervised control of a vehicle, environment, etc. |
1932 | Callistan n. 1 (1932) | a native or inhabitant of the Jovian moon Callisto; cf. slightly earlier Callistonian n. |
1932 | Earth-normal n. (1932) | a state, amount, or value of something (as gravity or atmospheric pressure) that is typical of what is found on Earth |
1932 | energy screen n. (1932) | a barrier made of or against energy; a force field n. |
1932 | escape ship n. (1932) | = lifeboat n.; lifeship n. |
1932 | force screen n. (1932) | = force field n. |
1932 | gravity drive n. (1932) | a spaceship drive that uses any technology associated with gravity |
1932 | hell planet n. (1932) | a planet regarded as dangerous or unpleasant, esp. one having climate conditions that are inhospitable for humans |
1932 | impervium n. (1932) | a virtually impenetrable or indestructible substance |
1932 | Jovian n. 2 (1932) | the language of Jovians |
1932 | jump n. (1932) | a journey through hyperspace n.; any (nearly) instantaneous travel over a large distance; cf. jump v. |