Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| stunner n. (1941) | = stun gun n. |
| 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’ |
| sub-creation n. (1947) | J. R. R. Tolkien’s word for: the action or process of creating a fully realized and internally consistent imaginary or secondary world n. |
| sub-creator n. (1947) | J. R. R. Tolkien's word for: a person who creates a secondary world (see sub-creation n.); (later also more generally) an author regarded as occupying the position of God in relation to his or her own fictional creation |
| sub-ether n. (1930) | a medium through which faster-than-light signals (or (rarely) objects) travel |
| subetheric adj. (1938) | of, relating to, or involving a sub-ether n. (esp. with allusion to a means of faster-than-light communication) |
| subetherics n. (1948) | a device which uses sub-ether (esp. with allusion to a means of faster-than-light communication) |
| subgenre n. (1955) | a style or category (of fiction, film, etc.) that is a regarded as a subset of another, broader genre |
| subjunctivity n. (1969) | the relationship between reality and something portrayed in a text |
| sublight n. (1967) | speeds below light-speed |
| sublight adj. (1947) | occurring below the speed of light; (also) relating to travel at speeds below the speed of light |
| sublight adv. (1966) | at a speed below light-speed |
| subspace n. (1937) | a physical space subject to different physical laws from our own, typically allowing motion or communication at speeds greater than the speed of light |
| subterrene n. (1956) | a subterranean tunnelling machine; esp. one which melts the rock in front of it and causes the molten rock to form a glassy lining to the tunnel as it develops |
| suit n. (1898) | = space suit n. |
| suited adj. (1938) | wearing a spacesuit |
| suit phone n. (1931) | a communications system in the helmet of a space suit; cf. suit radio n. |
| suit radio n. (1941) | = suit phone n. |
| suit up v. (1948) | to put on a spacesuit |
| superfan n. (1939) | a fan who exhibits extreme devotion or enthusiasm |
| superhero n. (1937) | a person who uses superpowers or superscience for benevolent purposes |
| superheroine n. (1960) | a woman who uses superpowers or superscience for benevolent purposes; a female superhero n. |
| superluminal adj. (1959) | having or being a speed greater than that of light; (also) designating an engine, etc., that can produce such a speed |
| superluminal adv. (1990) | at a superluminal speed |
| superluminally adv. (1975) | at a superluminal speed; faster than light |
| supernormal n. (1936) | a being with extraordinary (usu. psychic) powers as compared to other members of their kind |
| supernova n. (1942) | to go supernova (of a star) to become a supernova; (more generally, of a star, planet, etc.) to explode (also used figuratively) |
| superpower n. (1932) | a superhuman ability, esp. as possessed by a superhero; an ability beyond what is possible based on scientific laws |
| superscience n. (1929) | extremely advanced science; science beyond what is possible based on known laws |