Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological ( asc | desc )
| First date | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | shipper n. (1996) | a person who discusses, portrays, or advocates a romantic pairing of two characters who appear in a work of (serial) fiction, esp. when such a pairing is not depicted in the original work |
| 1995 | fantastical n. (1995) | of a creative work: that which has the qualities of fantasy n. 1 |
| 1995 | infodumping n. (1995) | the practice of using infodump n. in literature |
| 1995 | slipstreamy adj. (1995) | having the characteristics or qualities of slipstream n. |
| 1994 | MilSF n. (1994) | = military science fiction n. |
| 1994 | morphed adj. (1994) | transformed by means of morphing |
| 1994 | sharecrop v. (1994) | to write a sharecrop n. |
| 1994 | X-Phile n. (1994) | a fan of the TV show The X-Files |
| 1993 | Afrofuturism n. (1993) | a movement in literature, music, art, etc., featuring futuristic or science-fictional themes which incorporate elements of Black (American) history and culture |
| 1993 | areologic adj. (1993) | = areological adj. |
| 1993 | AU n. (1993) | = alternate universe n. 2 |
| 1993 | BDO n. (1993) | = big dumb object n. |
| 1993 | genre n. (1993) | the literary fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror collectively; imaginative fiction |
| 1993 | meatspace n. (1993) | the physical world, in contrast to cyberspace or a virtual environment; cf. slightly earlier meat world n. |
| 1993 | steampunkish adj. (1993) | of, pertaining to, or characteristic of steampunk n. 2 |
| 1992 | inertial damper n. (1992) | a device or system that partially negates the effects of inertia, used especially to protect those on board a spaceship from the effects of rapid changes in acceleration |
| 1992 | meat world n. (1992) | = meatspace n. |
| 1992 | mecha n. 2 (1992) | a genre, show, movie, etc. featuring mecha n. 1 |
| 1992 | 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. |
| 1991 | beast mode n. (1991) | in a video game: a (temporary) state in which a human transforms into an animal or mythical creature, typically having extra power or skills; (hence) a (temporary) state of aggression or great performance |
| 1991 | conlang n. (1991) | an artificially created language; esp. a language invented to represent the speech of an alien race |
| 1991 | counterfactual n. (1991) | a work of alternate history n. |
| 1991 | fan service n. (1991) | chiefly in a visual medium: material not central to the plot or characterization that is included only to please the audience; (specif.) (a) sexually provocative imagery intended to titillate the viewer; (b) material (such as inside jokes) that can be appreciated (only) by serious fans of a franchise |
| 1991 | morph v. 1 (1991) | intransitive (of something physical, esp. a sentient being) to change shape or form; = shapeshift v. |
| 1991 | sharecrop n. (1991) | fiction set in a universe that was created by (and is sometimes under license from) another, typically more-established, author |
| 1990 | Asimovian adj. 2 (1990) | (of a robot or AI) governed by the Laws of Robotics |
| 1990 | con crud n. (1990) | an illness (esp. a cold) suffered while or shortly after attending an SF convention |
| 1990 | edisonade n. (1990) | a story featuring a young (male) inventor who uses his inventions and ingenuity to defeat his foes or to explore new territory |
| 1990 | morph n. (1990) | an artificial or duplicate body |
| 1990 | morphing n. (1990) | the action or process that occurs when something morphs |
| 1990 | nanotech n. (1990) | = nanotechnology n. |
| 1990 | neurolink n. (1990) | a technologically based communication connection between a (human) brain and a computer system; a device providing such a connection; cf. jack in v. |
| 1990 | superluminal adv. (1990) | at a superluminal speed |
| 1989 | Borg n. (1989) | in the fictional universe of the Star Trek franchise: a group of cybernetically enhanced aliens linked in a hive mind n. |
| 1989 | cyberpunkish adj. (1989) | resembling or reminiscent of cyberpunk n. 1 |