Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological
Word | Definition |
---|---|
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 |
mecha n. 1 (1986) | chiefly in anime or manga: a large combat robot having humanoid form, typically controlled by an occupant |
mecha n. 2 (1992) | a genre, show, movie, etc. featuring mecha n. 1 |
megayear n. (1935) | a million years |
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 |
Mercurian n. (1698) | a native or inhabitant of Mercury |
Mercurian adj. (1897) | of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the planet Mercury or its inhabitants |
message rocket n. (1933) | a (small) rocket used to carry a message |
metaverse n. (1992) | a computer-generated environment within which users can interact with one another and their surroundings, a virtual world; (more generally) the notional environment in which users of networked computers interact; = cyberspace n. |
meteor storm n. (1870) | a particularly intense meteor shower, esp. occurring when the earth intercepts a meteor stream soon after the originating comet has passed; an intense encounter with a stream of meteors in space |
micro book n. (1932) | a book having the text reproduced at a reduced size by the use of microphotography or microprinting |
midspace n. (1900) | outer space, viewed as an area in its own right |
midspace adj. (1931) | occurring in midspace n. |
military science fiction n. (1977) | a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on the military and warfare, esp. set in outer space or on other worlds |
military SF n. (1978) | = military science fiction n. |
MilSF n. (1994) | = military science fiction n. |
mind control n. (1902) | the ability to control another person’s thoughts or actions telepathically |
mind-control v. (1970) | to use mind control on (a person); to control or influence (a person) telepathically |
mind-controlled adj. (1938) | of a device or a being: controlled by another person’s thoughts |
mind-controlling adj. (1929) | of a device or a being: having the ability to control a person’s thoughts or actions; (also) of or relating to mind control n. |
mindfood n. (1986) | a substance taken as food or drink containing chemicals which increase one’s mental ability |
mindlink n. (1954) | a telepathic connection between people; cf. mind-meld n. |
mind-meld n. (1968) | a technique for the psychic fusion of two or more minds, permitting unrestricted communication or deep understanding; the act or an instance of doing this; cf. earlier mindlink n. |