Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction

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First date Word Definition
1979 coreward adj. (1979) toward the center of a galaxy; cf. core n.
1979 filk singer n. (1979) one who sings filk songs
1979 generation starship n. (1979) = generation ship n.
1979 gravitied adj. 2 (1979) having artificial gravity
1979 gynoid n. (1979) a robot having female or feminine characteristics; = robotrix n.
1979 military science fiction n. (1979) a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on the military and warfare, esp. when the setting is outer space or other worlds
1979 SF/F/H n. (1979) abbreviation for science fiction, fantasy, and horror
1979 xenocidal adj. (1979) of, pertaining to, or involving xenocide n.
1978 dirtball n. (1978) a planet
1978 downtime adj. (1978) esp. in time-travel contexts: in or from the past; cf. uptime adj.
1978 filk v. (1978) among science fiction and fantasy fans: to write or perform filk songs
1978 frak v. (1978) (a euphemism for) fuck, in various senses and parts of speech
1978 infodump n. (1978) a large (often unwieldy or indigestible) amount of information supplied all at once; spec. as background or descriptive information in a narrative
1978 K/S n. (1978) a subgenre of science fiction, originally published in fanzines and now esp. online, in which the Star Trek characters Kirk and Spock are portrayed as having a homosexual relationship; (later) any similar fiction in which a pair of (established) male characters is so portrayed
1978 planetary romance n. (1978) a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on adventures taken on a planet's surface, especially in which the description of the planet is integral to the story; a work in this subgenre
1978 regeneration n. (1978) in the British television series Doctor Who: the process by which a Time Lord transforms themself into a new physical form, esp. after an experience that would otherwise be fatal; (also) a particular manifestation of a Time Lord
1978 skiffy n. (1978) = sci-fi n.
1978 technothriller n. (1978) a thriller which employs science fictional technology or gadgetry
1978 transhuman n. (1978) a person who has gained abilities (as through genetic engineering or cybernetic augmentation) sufficiently advanced that they are regarded as a different species
1978 urban fantasy n. (1978) a genre of fantasy that uses a (modern) city as its primary setting; a work in this genre
1977 genre fantasy n. (1977) stories, novels, etc. that are explicity written or published in the genre of fantasy, as opposed to ones which contain fantastic or supernatural elements but are written or published as mainstream or in another genre
1977 hubward adv. (1977) (of a rotating or circular body, as a space station) near or towards the center, rather than the edge
1977 Jonbar adj. (1977) in time-travel or alternate-history contexts: denoting a point at which a (trivial) action can result in a significantly different timeline (chiefly in form Jonbar hinge, Jonbar point)
1977 landspeeder n. (1977) in the fictional universe of the Star Wars franchise: a small vehicle that uses antigravity technology to hover close to the ground
1977 science-fictionality n. (1977) the condition or quality of being science fictional adj.; (of a work of fiction) being science-fictional
1977 soft science fiction n. (1977) science fiction based on the soft sciences (as sociology, anthropology, etc.); (also) science fiction in which the scientific elements are relatively unimportant to the story
1976 areologist n. (1976) a scientist specializing in areology n.
1976 cyborg v. (1976) to make into a cyborg
1976 cyborged adj. (1976) (of a biological organism) made into a cyborg n.
1976 Earthish adj. (1976) of or pertaining to Earth or its inhabitants
1976 escape pod n. (1976) a small, minimally equipped spacecraft for emergency use; = lifeboat n.