Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological ( asc | desc )
| First date | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | psionics n. (1951) | psychic powers, energy, or ability; the field of psychic phenomena; cf. psi n., psionic adj. |
| 1951 | skyhook n. 3 (1951) | any of various objects that are fairly high relative to a planet’s surface, as a balloon or an orbiting space platform |
| 1951 | space junk n. (1951) | man-made debris floating in space |
| 1951 | tight-beamed adj. (1951) | of a message: sent by means of a tight-beam n. |
| 1951 | triffid n. (1951) | in John Wyndham’s novel The Day of the Triffids: one of a race of malevolent alien plants which threaten to overrun the world |
| 1951 | xenoanthropology n. (1951) | the study of alien cultures |
| 1950 | alternate reality n. (1950) | = alternate world n. |
| 1950 | alternate universe n. (1950) | = alternate world n. |
| 1950 | Anglic n. (1950) | a future language descended from Modern English |
| 1950 | ftl adj. (1950) | = faster-than-light adj. |
| 1950 | ftl adv. (1950) | = faster than light adv. |
| 1950 | gafia n. 2 (1950) | the state of having quit fandom (cf. earlier gafia n. 1); cf. gafiation n. |
| 1950 | galactographic adj. (1950) | relating to galactography n. |
| 1950 | galactography n. (1950) | the science of mapping celestial objects within galaxies |
| 1950 | insectoid adj. (1950) | (esp. of an alien) insect-like |
| 1950 | light barrier n. 2 (1950) | the speed of light, as a theoretical limit of speed of any object |
| 1950 | null-grav n. (1950) | = null-g n. |
| 1950 | off-world adj. (1950) | of or relating to another world; originating from or located in a place outside one’s native world or planet |
| 1950 | planet-buster n. (1950) | a bomb or other weapon capable of destroying a planet |
| 1950 | Plutonian n. 2 (1950) | the language of Plutonians |
| 1950 | regeneration tank n. (1950) | a tank, typically filled with a nutrient bath, in which a person can recover from severe injury, such as the loss of a limb |
| 1950 | Rigellian n. 2 (1950) | the language of Rigellians |
| 1950 | robotic n. (1950) | a robot; a robotic device |
| 1950 | saucerman n. (1950) | a being that travels in a flying saucer; = [[2038]saucerian]] |
| 1950 | science fantasy n. 4 (1950) | a genre of science fiction characterized by phenomena which are thought to be scientifically impossible (such as time travel or ftl drives); soft science fiction n.; (also) a work in this genre |
| 1950 | science-fictionalized adj. (1950) | that has been made science fictional adj. in character |
| 1950 | space shuttle n. (1950) | = shuttle n. |
| 1950 | spindizzy n. (1950) | in James Blish’s City in Flight series: a faster-than-light antigravity drive powered by a field that alters the magnetic rotation of atoms |
| 1950 | starport n. (1950) | a place where (interstellar) spacecraft can take off and land; = spaceport n. |
| 1950 | teleporter n. 2 (1950) | a device for teleporting; = teleport n. 1 |
| 1950 | time police n. (1950) | officers who regulate time travel or other time-related phenomena; (specif.) officers who travel through time to attempt to prevent the past from being changed; a (government) body responsible for time-related phenomena |