Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction

Order by: alphabetical | chronological ( asc | desc )



First date Word Definition
1938 apa n. (1938) an organization of (often science fiction) fans that publishes a periodical containing works by most or all of the members
1938 continuum n. (1938) a universe; dimension n.
1938 Earth-norm n. (1938) = Earth-normal n.
1938 fan fiction n. (1938) fiction, usually fantasy or science fiction, written by a fan rather than a professional author, esp. that based on already-existing characters from a television series, book, film, etc.; (also) a piece of such writing
1938 Flash Gordon adj. (1938) = science fictional adj.; (specif.) characteristic of hackneyed or dated science fiction; Buck Rogers adj.
1938 mech n. (1938) = robot n.; (also) = mecha n. 1
1938 mind-controlled adj. (1938) of a device or a being: controlled by another person’s thoughts
1938 mind shield n. (1938) = thought shield n.
1938 sfnal adj. (1938) = science fictional adj.
1938 space bum n. (1938) a spacer who wanders aimlessly; a vagrant in space; (also) a spacer who is regarded as contemptible
1938 space dock n. (1938) a spaceport or space station, esp. one where a spaceship can undergo repair or take on supplies
1938 spacehand n. (1938) someone who works or has experience working in space, esp. a low-ranking member of a spaceship crew
1938 subetheric adj. (1938) of, relating to, or involving a sub-ether n. (esp. with allusion to a means of faster-than-light communication)
1938 suited adj. (1938) wearing a spacesuit
1938 telescanner n. (1938) a scanner, esp. one used for remote visual examination
1938 time-warped adj. (1938) transported from the past or future by a time warp n.
1938 tin can n. (1938) a spaceship or space station
1938 uchronia n. (1938) = alternate history n.
1938 uchronic adj. (1938) of or relating to uchronias
1938 vac-suit n. (1938) = vacuum suit n.
1938 zero-gravity n. (1938) the state or condition in which there is no apparent force of gravity acting on a body, either because the force is locally weak, or because both the body and its surroundings are freely and equally accelerating under the force
1937 Aldebaranian adj. (1937) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the Aldebaran system or its inhabitants
1937 alien life form n. (1937) = alien n.
1937 blast-off n. (1937) the initial thrust required to launch a rocket or the like into space; the launching of the rocket itself
1937 blast off v. (1937) (of a person or being) to take off in a spaceship, esp. one propelled by rockets; (of a spaceship) to take off
1937 Callistan n. 2 (1937) the language of Callistans
1937 countergravity n. (1937) = antigravity n.
1937 deep-space adj. (1937) of or in deep space n.
1937 Earth-normal adj. (1937) having conditions (as of gravity or atmospheric pressure) typical of what is found on Earth
1937 fantastic n. 2 (1937) a work of fantasy n. 1
1937 future history n. (1937) a fictional, self-contained, consistent, chronological framework (esp. realized across a body of work); (also) the subgenre of science fiction that uses such a framework
1937 galaxy-wide adj. (1937) of, relating to, or extending throughout a galaxy
1937 insectoid n. (1937) an insect-like alien
1937 interworld adj. (1937) between or occurring between planets
1937 ish n. (1937) an issue or edition in a series; spec. an issue of a magazine, esp. (in early use) a fanzine
1937 needler n. (1937) = needle gun n.; (also) a person who who operates such a weapon