Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| stfdom n. (1941) | the realm of science fiction |
| stfnal adj. (1937) | = science fictional adj. |
| stim n. (1950) | a (chemical) stimulant; something containing a stimulant; see also stim pill, stimtab |
| stim pill n. (1950) | a pill containing a chemical stimulant (stim n.) |
| stimtab n. (1971) | = stim pill n. |
| stun gun n. (1946) | a weapon that renders a victim unconscious or incapacitated without causing serious injury; cf. earlier stunner n. |
| stun-gun v. (1949) | to shoot with a stun gun n. |
| 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 |