Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological ( asc | desc )
| First date | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1885 | telepath v. (1885) | to transmit (a message, image, etc.) by telepathy; (also) to communicate with (a person) by telepathy; also intransitive; cf. telepathize v. |
| 1887 | planetquake n. (1887) | seismic activity on the surface of a planet, especially one other than Earth |
| 1888 | intergalactic adj. (1888) | situated between galaxies; of, pertaining to, or occupying the regions between galaxies |
| 1888 | Lunarite n. (1888) | a native or inhabitant of the Moon; = Lunarian n.; Lunite n. |
| 1888 | skyhook n. 1 (1888) | an imaginary device for attaching something to the sky |
| 1889 | speculative fiction n. 1 (1889) | = science fiction n. 2; (sometimes spec.) hard science fiction n. |
| 1889 | telepath n. (1889) | a person or being with the ability to use telepathy |
| 1889 | Terrestrial n. 1 (1889) | a native or inhabitant of Earth; = earthling n. |
| 1890 | space journey n. (1890) | a journey in space |
| 1891 | earthrise n. (1891) | the rise of Earth above the horizon, as seen by an observer on (or in orbit around) the moon, or another planet; an instance of this |
| 1892 | worldbuilder n. (1892) | a writer who engages in world-building n. |
| 1894 | somewhen adv. (1894) | in time-travel contexts: another time; in or to another time |
| 1894 | telepathize v. (1894) | = telepath v. |
| 1894 | time machine n. (1894) | a device capable of transporting a person backwards or forwards in time n. |
| 1894 | time traveller n. (1894) | one who travels through time n. |
| 1894 | time-travelling n. (1894) | the activity of travelling into the past or future; hypothetical movement through time |
| 1895 | shapeshifting adj. (1895) | pertaining to shapeshifting; that shapeshifts |
| 1895 | Wellsian adj. (1895) | of, pertaining to, or resembling the ideas and writings of H. G. Wells, esp. in his science fiction, social comment, etc. |
| 1896 | antigravity adj. (1896) | of or relating to something that negates or cancels the effect of gravity |
| 1896 | dimension n. (1896) | a realm of existence coexistent with our own, but which cannot be perceived or accessed by ordinary means and which often possesses different physical laws; cf. alternate world n., parallel universe n., plane n. |
| 1896 | home planet n. (1896) | = homeworld n. |
| 1897 | earthwoman n. (1897) | a female native or inhabitant of Earth |
| 1897 | heat ray n. (1897) | = ray n. |
| 1897 | Mercurian adj. (1897) | of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the planet Mercury or its inhabitants |
| 1897 | ray n. (1897) | a beam of (destructive) energy, emitted by a ray gun or similar device |
| 1897 | science fiction n. 1 (1897) | a work of science fiction n. 2 |
| 1898 | disintegrator n. (1898) | a weapon that disintegrates its target |
| 1898 | Earthward adv. (1898) | toward Earth |
| 1898 | energy n. (1898) | energy portrayed as something which can be produced in a particular form, such as a projectile, beam, or wave, and transferred (typically with destructive effect) to a body upon contact |
| 1898 | fleet n. (1898) | = space fleet n. |
| 1898 | horror n. (1898) | a genre intended to create a feeling of fear in the reader or viewer, especially one employing supernatural elements or monstrous creatures |
| 1898 | Martian n. 2 (1898) | the language of Martians |