| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| waldo n. (1942) | a remotely operated body, arm, etc., used variously to extend the userβs natural abilities, perform work in an inhospitable environment or at a distance, etc. |
| warp n. (1936) | = space warp n.; travel by means of a space warp, travel at warp speed |
| warp v. (1946) | to travel through space by way of a space warp n. |
| warp drive n. (1948) | a device by which a spaceship is enabled to travel through space by means of a space warp; a faster-than-light drive |
| warp speed n. (1952) | a faster-than-light speed, attained by a spaceship with a propulsion mechanism capable of manipulating space-time; (also, in extended use) an extraordinarily high speed |
| weird n. (1947) | that which is weird (in the sense of supernatural or fantastic) |
| weird adj. (1934) | describing supernatural horror (often in weird fiction, weird tale, etc.) |
| Wellsian n. (1914) | a devotee or follower of H. G. Wells |
| Wellsian adj. (1903) | of, pertaining to, or resembling the ideas and writings of H. G. Wells, esp. in his science fiction, social comment, etc. |
| wetware n. (1963) | biological structures or systems regarded as analogous to computer equipment; (specif.) the human brain; the mind, esp. when able to be affected or altered by computer processes |
| Whovian n. (1982) | a fan of the British television series Doctor Who |
| Wookiee n. (1974) | in the fictional universe of the Star Wars franchise: (a member of) a race of tall, hairy, humanoid aliens |
| worldbuilder n. (1892) | a writer who engages in world-building n. |
| world-building n. (1920) | the creation of fictional planets and their geology, geography, biology, etc., often including the history and culture of their inhabitants |
| worldcon n. (1952) | the annual world science fiction convention |
| worldlet n. (1841) | a small celestial object; a planetoid |
| worm n. (1975) | a program designed to sabotage a computer or computer network; spec. a self-duplicating program which can operate without becoming incorporated into another program |
| wormhole n. (1957) | an interconnection between widely separated regions of space-time, allowing faster-than-light travel between them |
| xeno- prefix (1962) | (used to form words indicating that the base element is or relates to an alien) |
| xenoanthropology n. (1966) | the study of alien cultures |
| xenobiological adj. (1958) | of or relating to xenobiology n. |
| xenobiologist n. (1954) | one who studies xenobiology |
| xenobiology n. (1954) | the study of the biology of extraterrestrial life forms |
| xenocidal adj. (1979) | of, pertaining to, or involving xenocide n. |
| xenocide n. (1973) | the killing or attempted killing of an entire alien species; the killing of an individual alien; (also) a person who commits this act |
| xenolinguist n. (1955) | one who studies alien languages |
| xenological adj. (1950) | of, or relating to, xenology |
| xenologist n. (1949) | one who studies xenology n. |
| xenology n. (1954) | the scientific study of aliens, esp. xenobiology n. |
| X-Phile n. (1994) | a fan of the TV show The X-Files |
| zap gun n. (1934) | = ray gun n. |