Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| space-going adj. (1932) | that travels in space |
| spacegram n. (1931) | a brief (written) message sent through space |
| spacegram v. (1931) | transitive to send (a spacegram); also with recipient as object, and intransitive |
| space gun n. 1 (1929) | a large gun which projects a spacecraft into space; (also) a hand-held gun whose recoil is used by an astronaut for propulsion |
| space gun n. 2 (1932) | a weapon used in by people in space; a toy handgun of a style imagined to be used by space travellers |
| spacehand n. (1938) | someone who works or has experience working in space, esp. a low-ranking member of a spaceship crew |
| space helmet n. (1931) | a helmet worn as part of a spacesuit, to provide the wearer with a breathable atmosphere and to protect the head |
| spacehound n. (1931) | an experienced spaceman or spacewoman |
| space journey n. (1890) | a journey in space |
| space junk n. (1951) | man-made debris floating in space |
| space lane n. (1928) | an established route through space |
| space law n. (1939) | a body of laws governing issues relating to outer space |
| space legs n. (1936) | the ability to move one’s body skillfully in low gravity and to avoid spacesickness n. |
| spaceline n. (1930) | a company that offers passenger space flights, esp. on a regular route; such a route itself |
| space liner n. (1931) | a large and esp. luxurious spaceship for passenger travel |
| space lock n. (1930) | = airlock n. |
| spaceman n. (1932) | a person (usu. a man) who travels in space, an astronaut; (also) a (male) person or being from another planet |
| spacemanship n. (1932) | skill or experience in piloting a spacecraft |
| space navigation n. (1928) | navigation in space; = astrogation n. |
| space navigator n. (1929) | one who navigates a spaceship; = astrogator n. |
| space opera n. (1941) | a subgenre of science fiction featuring adventure-driven, extravagantly dramatic plots (often including elements of romance) set in outer space; a subgenre of science fiction which uses stock characters and settings, especially those of Westerns translated into outer space; a work in this genre, regarded as being of an unsophisticated or clichéd type |
| space-operatic adj. (1953) | being or resembling space opera n. |
| space-pale adj. (1948) | pale from being in space; cf. space-tanned adj. |
| space patrol n. (1930) | a military or police force operating in space |
| space patrolman n. (1939) | a man who works for a space patrol n. |
| space pilot n. (1932) | a pilot of a spaceship |
| space piracy n. (1937) | piracy carried out against space vessels or other worlds |
| space pirate n. (1930) | one who preys on spaceships or other worlds |
| space platform n. (1945) | = space station n. |
| spaceport n. (1930) | a place where spacecraft can take off and land in order to discharge and receive passengers or cargo, refuel, or undergo maintenance; a facility for this purpose |
| space probe n. (1949) | an unmanned spacecraft used esp. for research or reconnaissance |
| spacer n. 1 (1937) | = spaceman n.; esp. a civilian who travels or works in space |
| spacer n. 2 (1939) | = spaceship n. |
| space relay n. (1958) | a relay station, as for a radio transmission, in space or on a moon |
| space rocket n. (1924) | a rocket designed to travel beyond a planet's atmosphere |
| space sailor n. (1933) | a person who travels in space, esp. as a profession |
| space science n. (1953) | the study of outer space |
| space scientist n. (1939) | an expert or specialist in a branch of science that deal with regions beyond the earth or beyond Earth’s atmosphere, including astronomy, astrophysics, and exobiology |
| spaceship n. (1880) | a spacecraft; esp. a manned one under the control of its crew |