Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction

Order by: alphabetical | chronological ( asc | desc )



First date Word Definition
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 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.
1956 gafiate n. (1956) a person who has quit fandom; one who has gafiated
1956 Heinleinian adj. (1956) of, relating to, or characteristic of the writing of Robert Heinlein
1956 insectoidal adj. (1956) = insectoid adj.
1956 jaunt v. (1956) esp. in reference to teleportation by psychic rather than technological means: = teleport v. 1; = teleport v. 2
1956 matter transporter n. (1956) = matter transmitter n.; = transporter n.
1956 men in black n. (1956) dark-clothed men of unknown identity or origin, who supposedly visit those who have encountered a UFO or alien in order to prevent them from publicizing their experience
1956 pod person n. (1956) an alien, a monster; a person considered to be conformist, unoriginal, or emotionless; one who lacks personality or individuality
1956 relaxacon n. (1956) a science fiction convention with few or no fixed program events or organized activities
1956 space-based adj. (1956) based in outer space
1956 subterrene n. (1956) a subterranean tunnelling machine; esp. one which melts the rock in front of it and causes the molten rock to form a glassy lining to the tunnel as it develops
1956 torch v. (1956) to travel in a spaceship using a torch drive
1956 unobtainium n. (1956) a hypothetical substance that would be highly desirable but is unrealized or unobtainable; a notional substance with exceptional or ideal properties
1955 countergrav n. (1955) = antigravity n.
1955 dirtside n. (1955) the surface of a planet
1955 dystopia n. 2 (1955) an imaginary place or state of affairs in which there is great suffering or injustice, esp. as the result of a totalitarian or dehumanizing political state; the genre of fiction set in such a situation; cf. utopia n.
1955 generation ship n. (1955) an interstellar spacecraft in which multiple generations of passengers are born, live, and die before arrival at its destination
1955 null-grav adj. (1955) = null-g n.
1955 planetside adj. (1955) located or occurring on the surface of a planet
1955 rimworld n. (1955) a planet orbiting a star near the edge of a galaxy, typically regarded as being isolated from mainstream galactic culture
1955 sci-fi n. (1955) = science fiction n. 2
1955 sercon adj. (1955) of fans or fan activities: (obsessively) concerned with matters of criticism or scholarship, rather than fandom itself; cf. faan n.
1955 subgenre n. (1955) a style or category (of fiction, film, etc.) that is a regarded as a subset of another, broader genre
1955 time crime n. (1955) a violation of time travel laws, esp. an illegal attempt to change the past; such violations collectively; cf. time police n.
1955 time hopper n. 1 (1955) = time machine n.
1955 time patrol n. (1955) = time police n.