Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological ( asc | desc )
| First date | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | intergalactically adv. (1959) | between or among galaxies; (broadly) (used as an intensive), extremely, incredibly |
| 1959 | jump drive n. (1959) | a spacecraft drive that enables a ship to journey through hyperspace or to engage in any instantaneous (long-distance) travel; cf. jump n., jump v. |
| 1959 | off-planet n. (1959) | an off-planet location |
| 1959 | planet-hopper n. 2 (1959) | a small spacecraft used esp. for short journeys between nearby planets, in contrast to one used for interstellar travel |
| 1959 | planetside n. (1959) | the surface of a planet; a base or other installation on a planet |
| 1959 | RealSoonNow adv. (1959) | in the near future; quickly; very soon |
| 1959 | RSN adv. (1959) | = RealSoonNow adv. |
| 1959 | sf-ish adj. (1959) | = science-fictionish adj. |
| 1959 | shapechange n. (1959) | an act or instance of shapechanging |
| 1959 | solar sailing n. (1959) | propelling a spacecraft via a solar sail n. |
| 1959 | superluminal adj. (1959) | having or being a speed greater than that of light; (also) designating an engine, etc., that can produce such a speed |
| 1959 | Tau Cetan adj. (1959) | of or relating to the Tau Ceti star system or its inhabitants |
| 1959 | tight-beam v. (1959) | to send (esp. a message) by means of a tight-beam n.; to send to (someone) by means of a tight-beam n.; also intrans. |
| 1960 | chrononaut n. (1960) | = time traveller n. |
| 1960 | cryogenics n. (1960) | = cryostasis n.; cryonics n. |
| 1960 | cyborg n. (1960) | a living organism whose body has been modified to include both biological and mechanical components |
| 1960 | feghoot n. (1960) | a very short story that culminates in an (elaborate) pun |
| 1960 | kipple n. (1960) | useless or unwanted (household) objects; junk; rubbish |
| 1960 | post-apocalyptic adj. (1960) | pertaining to a time or setting after the collapse of civilization |
| 1960 | starfaring adj. (1960) | pertaining to interstellar travel |
| 1960 | Sturgeon’s Law n. (1960) | a humorous aphorism which maintains that most of any body of published material, knowledge, etc., or (more generally) of everything is worthless: based on a statement by Theodore Sturgeon, usually later cited as ‘90 per cent of everything is crap’ |
| 1960 | superheroine n. (1960) | a woman who uses superpowers or superscience for benevolent purposes; a female superhero n. |
| 1960 | telempath n. (1960) | a person who has the psionic ability to sense others’ emotions |
| 1961 | COA n. (1961) | notification of a change of address |
| 1961 | epic fantasy n. (1961) | = high fantasy n.; = sword and sorcery n. |
| 1961 | fan film n. (1961) | a movie made by a fan; audiovisual fan fiction n. |
| 1961 | grok v. (1961) | to perceive or understand fully; to feel empathy with; to enjoy, appreciate |
| 1961 | heroic fantasy n. (1961) | = sword and sorcery n. |
| 1961 | in-system adv. (1961) | in or into a solar system; toward the center of a solar system; cf. out-system adv. |
| 1961 | jumpspace n. (1961) | hyperspace n.; the (notional) space in which ships travel during a jump |
| 1961 | light n. 2 (1961) | a light year |
| 1961 | loc n. (1961) | a letter written to a magazine, esp. a fanzine |
| 1961 | sensawunda n. (1961) | = sense of wonder n. |
| 1961 | starfarer n. (1961) | an interstellar traveller |
| 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’ |