Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| Callistonian n. (1930) | = Callistan n. 1 |
| Callistonian adj. (1930) | = Callistan adj. |
| Campbellian adj. (1949) | of, relating to, or characteristic of the writing that appeared in the magazines edited by John W. Campbell, esp. in featuring heroic characters in technologically advanced scenarios |
| carbon-based adj. (1939) | based on the chemistry of carbon compounds (usually describing life as we know it on Earth, in contrast with with theoretical forms of life based on other chemical elements, as silicon) |
| carbonite n. (1980) | a carbon-based material in which a person can be cryogenically preserved |
| catastrophe adj. (1948) | = disaster adj. |
| Centaurian n. 1 (1931) | a native or inhabitant of the constellation Centaurus or of a star system within it, esp. Alpha Centauri; cf. Alpha Centaurian n. |
| Centaurian n. 2 (1943) | the language of Centaurians |
| Centaurian adj. (1901) | of or relating to the constellation Centaurus or one of its star systems, esp. Alpha Centauri, or its inhabitants; cf. Alpha Centaurian adj. |
| Cerean n. (1883) | a native or inhabitant of the dwarf planet Ceres |
| Cerean adj. (1883) | of or relating to the dwarf planet Ceres or its inhabitants |
| Chicon n. (1940) | a SF convention held in Chicago, esp. the 1940 Chicago Science Fiction Convention |
| chrononaut n. (1960) | = time traveller n. |
| chronoscope n. (1936) | a device for viewing events in the past or future |
| chronoscopy n. (1956) | viewing past or future events |
| cityship n. (1953) | a large spacecraft having the size or complexity of a city |
| Clarke belt n. (1981) | the ring-shaped region around the Earth containing all possible geostationary orbits |
| Clarke orbit n. (1969) | geosynchronous orbit |
| 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’ |
| class M planet n. (1964) | an Earth-type planet |
| cli-fi n. (2009) | a subgenre of science fiction concerned with the effects of climate change |
| cloak v. (1984) | to make invisible or undetectable, esp. by means of a cloaking device n. |
| cloaking device n. (1968) | a device for rendering something invisible or undetectable |
| clone n. (1966) | any member of a hypothetical population of artificially produced, identical beings; (also) a duplicate of a living person |
| COA n. (1961) | notification of a change of address |
| cold fusion n. (1956) | nuclear fusion taking place at temperature lower than ordinarily required, spec. at or near room temperature |
| cold sleep n. (1941) | a form of suspended animation in which the subjects are kept at very cold temperatures |
| cold sleep v. (1956) | to undergo suspended animation for a period of time; (transitive) (rare) to put a person into cold sleep n. |