Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological ( asc | desc )
| First date | Word | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | sentient adj. (1920) | sapient; intelligent |
| 1920 | world-building n. (1920) | the creation of fictional realms and their geology, geography, biology, etc., often including the history and culture of their inhabitants |
| 1921 | Betelgeusean adj. (1921) | of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the Betelgeuse system or its inhabitants |
| 1921 | Betelgeusean n. 1 (1921) | a native or inhabitant of the Betelgeuse system |
| 1921 | deep space n. (1921) | that part of space far away from planets or stars |
| 1921 | geas n. (1921) | in fantasy writings: a spell; a magical compulsion |
| 1921 | time binding n. (1921) | in General Semantics: the characteristically human ability to transmit knowledge to succeeding generations by means of (written) language; (hence, in Fandom) the act of documenting fannish activities |
| 1922 | earth person n. (1922) | a native or inhabitant of Earth; cf. earth people n. |
| 1923 | fantasist n. (1923) | a writer of fantasy n. 1 |
| 1923 | fantastic n. 1 (1923) | of a creative work: that which has the qualities of fantasy n. 1 |
| 1923 | parallel universe n. (1923) | a universe conceived of as existing alongside our own, having many similarities to it but usually differing from it in some significant way (as having a different history or different physical laws) |
| 1923 | space travel n. (1923) | travel through outer space |
| 1923 | weird adj. (1923) | describing supernatural horror (often in weird fiction, weird story, etc.) |
| 1923 | weird n. (1923) | something that is weird adj.; weird fiction collectively |
| 1924 | robotically adv. 1 (1924) | in the manner of a robot; mechanically; without emotion |
| 1924 | space-borne adj. (1924) | travelling or carried through space; also, carried out in space or by means of instruments in space |
| 1924 | space rocket n. (1924) | a rocket designed to travel beyond a planet's atmosphere |
| 1925 | blaster n. (1925) | a weapon that fires a destructive beam of energy |
| 1925 | matter-transmitting adj. (1925) | designating or relating to a matter transmitter n. |
| 1925 | rocket-ship n. (1925) | a spacecraft powered by rockets |
| 1925 | space cruiser n. (1925) | a spaceship; = cruiser n. |
| 1926 | gravity screen n. (1926) | a device that creates or prevents the effects of gravity; the effect of such a device |
| 1926 | inhuman n. (1926) | a nonhuman being; cf. alien n. |
| 1926 | starship n. (1926) | a spaceship capable of interstellar travel |
| 1926 | vacuum suit n. (1926) | = space suit n. |
| 1927 | artificial gravity n. (1927) | any technological effect that simulates gravity, esp. in a spaceship |
| 1927 | interplanetary n. (1927) | a story about interplanetary travel |
| 1927 | Lovecraftian adj. (1927) | of, relating to, or characteristic of the writing of H. P. Lovecraft, esp. in featuring elements of supernatural and often existential horror |
| 1927 | materialize v. (1927) | to appear in a (reconstituted) physical form after travelling through space or time by means of a matter transmitter or similar device |
| 1927 | non-human n. (1927) | a non-human creature or organism, such as an animal, an alien, or a supernatural being; = unhuman n. |
| 1927 | plane n. (1927) | = dimension n. |
| 1927 | pseudo-science n. (1927) | = science fiction n. 2 |
| 1928 | Earthbound adj. 1 (1928) | headed toward Earth |
| 1928 | earthlike adj. (1928) | resembling or like the Earth |