Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction

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First date Word Definition
1998 inertial dampener n. (1998) = inertial damper n.
1998 red pill n. (1998) a drug that reveals esp. unpleasant truths of the real world; cf. blue pill n.
1998 ship v. (1998) transitive to discuss, portray, or advocate a romantic pairing of (two characters who appear in a work of (serial) fiction), esp. when such a pairing is not depicted in the original work; also intransitive
1999 bullet time n. (1999) a video effect in which the camera appears to move around a stationary or very slow-moving subject
2000 Afrofuturistic adj. (2000) = Afrofuturist adj.
2002 New Weird n. (2002) a genre that incorporates elements of fantasy, science fiction, and horror, typically in a complex urban setting
2002 verse n. (2002) the universe; (also) one of many universes in a multiverse; cf. earlier -verse suffix
2003 fangirl v. (2003) esp. of a girl or woman: to exhibit extreme devotion (to) or excitement (about); to act like a fangirl n.
2003 Spider-Man principle n. (2003) the adage ‘with great power comes great responsibility’
2004 mundane adj. 2 (2004) denoting a subgenre of science fiction characterized by a rejection of themes considered scientifically implausible (as faster-than-light travel, alternate universes, etc.)
2005 flash crowd n. (2005) a sudden increase in the number of visitors viewing a (small or niche) website, esp. after the site has been mentioned in a more prominent venue
2006 murderbot n. (2006) a robot or cyborg designed chiefly to inflict violence
2006 uplifter n. (2006) a genetic engineer who carries out uplift n.
2008 grimdark n. (2008) a subgenre of (esp. fantasy) fiction characterized by a nihilistic, violent, and dystopian atmosphere or setting
2009 cli-fi n. (2009) a subgenre of science fiction concerned with the effects of climate change
2018 Africanfuturism n. (2018) Nnedi Okorafor’s term for: a subgenre of science fiction that heavily features elements of African history or culture; cf. Afrofuturism