Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Order by: alphabetical | chronological
| Word | Definition |
|---|---|
| downtime adj. (1978) | esp. in time-travel contexts: in or from the past; cf. uptime adj. |
| downtime adv. (1972) | esp. in time-travel contexts: in, into, or toward the past; cf. uptime adv. |
| droid n. (1952) | a robot, esp. a humanoid one; an android |
| dropshaft n. (1952) | a vertical shaft that uses artificial gravity to move free-floating passengers or freight |
| Dyson sphere n. (1966) | an artificial structure in the form of a hollow shell surrounding a star, built esp. in order to capture the starβs energy output |
| dystopia n. 1 (1952) | a work set in a dystopia n. 2 |
| dystopia n. 2 (1955) | an imaginary place or state of affairs in which there is great suffering or injustice, esp. as the result of a totalitarian or dehumanizing political state; the genre of fiction set in such a situation; cf. utopia n. |
| dystopian n. (1868) | one who advocates or describes a dystopia n. 2 |
| dystopian adj. (1953) | of or pertaining to a dystopia n. 2 |
| dystopianism n. (1962) | dystopian quality or characteristics |
| dystopic adj. (1967) | of, pertaining to, or resembling a dystopia n. 2 |
| earthborn n. (1940) | a person born on Earth; people born on Earth collectively |
| earthborn adj. (1900) | originating on Earth, as opposed to outer space or another celestial body |
| Earthbound adj. 1 (1928) | headed toward Earth |
| Earthbound adj. 2 (1930) | based on Earth; unable to leave Earth |
| Earthean n. (1882) | = Earthian n. 1 |
| Earthean adj. (1882) | = Earthian adj. |
| Earther n. (1952) | a native or inhabitant of Earth |
| earthfall n. (1952) | the arrival of a spaceship on the surface of Earth; cf. planetfall n. |
| earth folk n. (1880) | = earth people n. |
| earthgirl n. (1911) | a girl or woman from Earth |
| Earthian n. 1 (1861) | a native or inhabitant of Earth; = earthling n. |
| Earthian n. 2 (1943) | a language spoken on Earth, esp. a universal language spoken widely by Earth people |
| Earthian adj. (1907) | of or pertaining to Earth or Earthlings |
| earthie n. (1947) | = earthling n. |
| Earthish n. (1956) | a universal language of Earth; = Earthian n. 2 |
| Earthish adj. (1976) | of or pertaining to Earth or its inhabitants |
| Earthite n. (1814) | a native or inhabitant of Earth |
| earthlike adj. (1928) | resembling or like the Earth |
| earthling n. (1858) | a native or inhabitant of Earth |
| earthly adj. (1783) | belonging to or characteristic of Earth |