Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| planet-hop v. (1953) | to travel from one planet to another, esp. in short trips; cf. slightly earlier planet-hopper n. 1 |
| planet-hopper n. 1 (1936) | a person who planet-hops |
| planet-hopper n. 2 (1959) | a small spacecraft used esp. for short journeys between nearby planets, in contrast to one used for interstellar travel |
| planet-hopping n. (1945) | the action of making (short) trips from one planet to another |
| planet-hopping adj. (1946) | that planet-hops; of or relating to planet-hopping n. |
| planetless adj. (1929) | of a star: having no orbiting planets; (occasionally, of people) having no home planet; homeless in space |
| planetman n. (1937) | a person from oneβs home planet n. |
| planetographer n. (1937) | one who studies or maps planets |
| planetography n. (1941) | the study of the geography or physical features of planets |
| planetquake n. (1887) | seismic activity on the surface of a planet, especially one other than Earth |
| planetscape n. (1940) | the surface geography of a planet |
| planetside n. (1959) | the surface of a planet; a base or other installation on a planet |
| planetside adj. (1955) | located or occurring on the surface of a planet |
| planetside adv. (1952) | on or onto the surface of a planet |
| planet-wide adj. (1932) | extending over or affecting an entire planet |
| planet-wide adv. (1933) | on, over, or throughout an entire planet |
| Planet X n. (1976) | (an arbitrary designation for) an unknown or hypothetical alien planet |
| plasteel n. (1942) | an artificial material that combines some of the qualities of plastic (such as lightness or transparency) with some of the qualities of steel (such as hardness or strength) |
| plastiskin n. (1949) | synthetic skin |
| pleasure planet n. (1939) | a planet that is pleasurable to visit, esp. one that functions chiefly as a resort; cf. paradise planet n. |
| Plutonian n. 1 (1931) | a native or inhabitant of Pluto |
| Plutonian n. 2 (1950) | the language of Plutonians |
| Plutonian adj. (1931) | pertaining to the planet Pluto |
| pocket universe n. (1946) | a universe or reality completely separate from ours which is much smaller, may have different natural laws, and may be artificially created |
| pod person n. (1956) | an alien, a monster; a person considered to be conformist, unoriginal, or emotionless; one who lacks personality or individuality |
| port n. (1932) | = spaceport n. |
| portal n. (1931) | a means of entering another dimension or an alternate universe, or of travelling instantaneously from one place or time to another, often portrayed as a door or other structure that may be passed through; cf. gate n. |
| porthole n. (1911) | a small window in a spacecraft |
| positronic adj. (1936) | related to or designed to use positrons |
| post-apocalypse adj. (1968) | = post-apocalyptic adj. |
| post-apocalyptic adj. (1960) | pertaining to a time or setting after the collapse of civilization |
| postcyberpunk adj. (1989) | of or pertaining a subgenre of science fiction that employs some of cyberpunk's themes, especially the exploration of the effects of a high rate of technological change on society, but rejects the alienation and dystopianism of cyberpunk |
| postholocaust adj. (1962) | = post-apocalyptic adj. |
| 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. |
| posthuman adj. (1916) | of or relating to a hypothetical species that might evolve from human beings, as by means of genetic or bionic augmentation; cf. posthuman n. |