Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological ( asc | desc )
First date | Word | Definition |
---|---|---|
1961 | starfarer n. (1961) | an interstellar traveller |
1961 | sword and sorcery n. (1961) | a subgenre of fantasy n. 1 which describes the adventures of larger-than-life heroes or heroines in bronze-age or medieval settings, and especially their battles with magical or supernatural foes; = heroic fantasy n. |
1962 | Clarke’s Law n. (1962) | any of three maxims formulated by Arthur C. Clarke (sometimes specified as Clarke’s First Law, Clarke’s Second Law, Clarke’s Third Law): (a) ‘When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong’ (b) ‘The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.’ (c) ‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic’ |
1962 | croggled adj. (1962) | astonished, baffled, bewildered |
1962 | datapad n. (1962) | a thin handheld electronic device for viewing and manipulating information; a tablet computer |
1962 | dystopianism n. (1962) | dystopian quality or characteristics |
1962 | laser cannon n. (1962) | a large weapon, similar in size to a cannon, that fires a laser |
1962 | loc v. (1962) | to write a loc (to) |
1962 | postholocaust adj. (1962) | = post-apocalyptic adj. |
1962 | proto-science fiction n. (1962) | literary works, written before the establishment of science fiction as a recognized genre, that prefigure the themes of science fiction, especially ones involving fantastic voyages or technological innovations |
1962 | sapience n. (1962) | (of non-humans) intelligence |
1962 | tesser v. (1962) | in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time: to travel through space by means of a tesseract n. |
1962 | tesseract n. (1962) | in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time: a means of travelling through space by manipulating the dimensions of spacetime |
1962 | xeno- prefix (1962) | (used to form words indicating that the base element is or relates to an alien) |
1963 | companion n. (1963) | in the British television series Doctor Who: any of the usually human characters who (regularly) travel with the Doctor |
1963 | dalek n. (1963) | in the British television series Doctor Who: a member of a race of aggressive alien mutants in mobile armoured casings |
1963 | laser gun n. (1963) | a weapon that fires a laser |
1963 | laser pistol n. (1963) | a hand weapon of similar size to a pistol that fires a laser |
1963 | laser rifle n. (1963) | a long shoulder weapon that fires a laser |
1963 | light sail n. (1963) | = solar sail n. |
1963 | multiversal adj. (1963) | of or pertaining to a multiverse n. 1 |
1963 | multiverse n. 1 (1963) | a space or realm of being consisting of a number of universes, of which our own universe is only one; cf. parallel universe n. |
1963 | mundane n. 2 (1963) | a person who is not a science-fiction fan; an outsider |
1963 | space-fictional n. (1963) | resembling or characteristic of space fiction n. |
1963 | spider sense n. (1963) | in the fictional world of the comic book hero Spider-Man: the precognitive ability to anticipate (and react to) dangerous situations beyond the normal range of human senses; (hence, in figurative or allusive use) a premonition; intuition; insight |
1963 | spidey sense n. (1963) | = spider sense n. |
1963 | TARDIS n. 1 (1963) | in the British television series Doctor Who: a time machine having the outward form of a police telephone box; (hence) any means of travelling through time |