Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological ( asc | desc )
| First date | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
| 1955 | tri-vid n. (1955) | a device or system capable of transmitting or displaying a three-dimensional image |
| 1955 | xenolinguist n. (1955) | a specialist in alien languages |
| 1955 | xenolinguistics n. (1955) | the study of alien languages |
| 1954 | alternate history n. (1954) | a timeline that is different from that of our own world, usually extrapolated from the changing of a single event; the subgenre featuring such a timeline; (also) a story featuring this |
| 1954 | anti-agathic n. (1954) | a drug or other medical treatment that prolongs life |
| 1954 | anti-agathic adj. (1954) | (of a drug, medical treatment, etc.) that prolongs life |
| 1954 | congoer n. (1954) | one who attends (usually science fiction) conventions |
| 1954 | croggle v. (1954) | to astonish, bewilder, baffle |
| 1954 | Ellisonian adj. (1954) | of, relating to, or characteristic of the writing of Harlan Ellison |
| 1954 | Galactic n. 2 (1954) | a language commonly spoken throughout the galaxy; cf. Standard n. |
| 1954 | genetic engineer n. (1954) | a scientist who works in the field of genetic engineering n. |
| 1954 | hobbitlike adj. (1954) | like a hobbit |
| 1954 | mindlink n. (1954) | a telepathic connection between people; cf. mind-meld n. |
| 1954 | near-future adj. (1954) | denoting a subgenre of science fiction set in a future recognizably similar to a contemporary setting, having only moderate differences in technology |
| 1954 | neo n. (1954) | = neofan n. |
| 1954 | posthuman n. (1954) | a (hypothetical) descendant of humans who is sufficiently different from present-day humans in form or capabilities to be regarded as a new species or otherwise fundamentally different from present-day humans; (also) a human who has been genetically or bionically augmented; cf. earlier posthuman adj. |
| 1954 | precog n. 1 (1954) | a person with precognitive abilities; cf. earlier precog v. |
| 1954 | precog n. 2 (1954) | precognition; foreknowledge, esp. as a form of extrasensory perception; cf. precog n. 1 and earlier precog v. |
| 1954 | slugthrower n. (1954) | a weapon that fires a physical projectile, in contrast to an energy weapon n. |
| 1954 | temporal paradox n. (1954) | = time paradox n. |
| 1954 | three vee n. (1954) | a device capable of transmitting or displaying a (moving) three dimensional image |
| 1954 | timequake n. (1954) | a sudden significant disturbance in the continuity of time; cf. time storm n., time-slip n. |