Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction

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First date Word Definition
1958 clanker n. (1958) = robot n.
1958 collapsium n. (1958) any of a variety of extremely high-density substances
1958 farside n. (1958) the side of the Moon that faces away from Earth; cf. earlier darkside n. 1, nightside n.
1958 gravitically adv. (1958) by means of gravity; with regard to gravity; cf. gravitic adj.
1958 hovercar n. (1958) a car that hovers above the ground, typically conceived as using antigravity technology
1958 RealSoonNow adv. (1958) ironically eventually; at some point
1958 sapient n. (1958) an intelligent alien
1958 sercon n. (1958) a sercon fan; a sercon item, sercon activities
1958 skin job n. 1 (1958) a skin transplant (esp. for the purpose of changing or concealing one’s identity); cosmetic surgery performed on the skin
1958 solar sail n. (1958) a surface designed to utilize the pressure of solar radiation to provide the propulsive force for a spacecraft to which it is attached
1958 space relay n. (1958) a relay station, as for a radio transmission, in space or on a moon
1958 stargate n. (1958) a portal or device that transports something to another point in the universe (usually another such location or device) in a manner that bypasses the intervening space; cf. gate n., jump gate n.
1958 telempathic adj. (1958) of or by means of telempathy n.
1958 xenobiological adj. (1958) of or relating to xenobiology n.
1957 croggled adj. (1957) astonished; baffled; bewildered
1957 hard science fiction n. (1957) science fiction that does not violate known scientific laws; science fiction based or focused on the hard sciences
1957 jumpship n. (1957) a spaceship that makes interstellar jumps
1957 offworlder n. (1957) a person or being from another planet; an alien
1957 out-system n. (1957) an area outside of a solar system
1957 robocop n. (1957) a robotic or bionic law enforcement officer
1957 science fictiony adj. (1957) characteristic of science fiction n. 2; resembling something which might exist in a work of science fiction; futuristic
1957 skinsuit n. (1957) a thin, tight-fitting spacesuit, often intended for short-term or emergency use
1957 unsuit v. (1957) to remove a spacesuit
1957 unsuited adv. (1957) without wearing a spacesuit
1957 wormhole n. (1957) an interconnection between widely separated regions of space-time, allowing faster-than-light travel between them
1956 chronoscopy n. (1956) viewing past or future events
1956 cold fusion n. (1956) nuclear fusion taking place at temperature lower than ordinarily required, spec. at or near room temperature
1956 cold sleep v. (1956) to undergo suspended animation for a period of time; (transitive) (rare) to put a person into cold sleep n.
1956 croggling adj. (1956) astonishing; baffling; bewildering
1956 Earthish n. (1956) a universal language of Earth; = Earthian n. 2
1956 empath n. (1956) a person or being with the paranormal ability to perceive or share the feelings or emotional state of another
1956 empathy n. (1956) the paranormal perception of others’ emotions; cf. empath n.