Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction

Order by: alphabetical | chronological



Word Definition
Loonie n. (1941) a native or inhabitant of the Moon; = Lunarian n.; Lunite n.; Lunarite n.
Lovecraftian n. (1944) a devotee or follower of H.P. Lovecraft
Lovecraftian adj. (1927) of, relating to, or characteristic of the writing of H. P. Lovecraft, esp. in featuring elements of supernatural and often existential horror
lox n. (1965) plural of loc
Luna n. (1876) the Moon
Luna City n. (1934) the main city on the Moon
Lunarian n. (1708) a native or inhabitant of the Moon
Lunarian adj. (1705) of or relating to the Moon
Lunarite n. (1888) a native or inhabitant of the Moon; = Lunarian n.; Lunite n.
lunarscape n. (1908) a landscape on the Moon
Lunite n. (1928) a native or inhabitant of the Moon; = Lunarian n.; Lunarite n.
mad scientist n. (1883) a scientist who is insane or eccentric, esp. so as to be dangerous or evil: a stock figure of melodramatic horror stories
mag- prefix (1943) magnetic
mainstream adj. (1953) belonging to or characteristic of the dominant or traditional literary modes, especially representational fiction
manga n. (1951) a Japanese genre of cartoons and comic books, typically drawn in a meticulously detailed style, usually featuring characters with distinctive large, staring eyes, sometimes including violent or sexually explicit material
Marsian n. 1 (1853) a native or inhabitant of the planet Mars; = Martian n. 1
Marsian n. 2 (1882) the language of Marsians; = Martian n. 2
Marsian adj. (1882) of or relating to the the planet Mars or its inhabitants; = Martian adj.
marsport n. (1931) a spaceport on Mars
marsquake n. (1912) seismic activity on the surface of Mars
Martian n. 1 (1868) a native or inhabitant of the planet Mars; cf. earlier Marsian n. 1
Martian n. 2 (1898) the language of Martians
Martian adj. (1873) of or relating to the the planet Mars or its inhabitants
Martianess n. (1898) a female Martian
Mary Sue n. (1976) a writer who inserts an idealized version of themselves in their own fan fiction n.; such a story or character
materialize v. (1927) to appear in a (reconstituted) physical form after travelling through space or time by means of a matter transmitter or similar device
matrix n. (1976) with the: = cyberspace n.
matter transmission n. (1931) the transportation of material objects by a process analogous to radio transmission; cf. matter transmitter n.
matter transmitter n. (1931) a device for conveying matter over a distance by transforming it into energy or information, beaming this to another location, and reconstituting the original matter at the destination; cf. matter transmission n.
matter-transmitting adj. (1925) designating or relating to a matter transmitter n.
matter transporter n. (1956) = matter transmitter n.; = transporter n.
meat puppet n. (1984) the human body; a physical human being, esp. in contrast to virtual reality or artificial intelligence
meatspace n. (1993) the physical world, in contrast to cyberspace or a virtual environment; cf. slightly earlier meat world n.
meat world n. (1992) = meatspace n.
mech n. (1938) = robot n.; (also) = mecha n. 1