Subject: Time Travel

Terms relating to time travel.



Word Definition
alternate future n. (1941) in time-travel contexts: one of a number of possible futures; cf. slightly earlier alternative future n.
alternative future n. (1932) = alternate future n.
anywhen adv. (1941) (in relation to time travel) in or to any point in time
changewar n. (1958) a conflict in which participants engage in time travel in order to alter history to effect a desired timeline
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
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.
elsewhen n. (1943) (in time-travel contexts) another time
elsewhen adv. (1940) (in time-travel contexts) at or to another point in time
everywhen n. (1942) (in time-travel contexts) all points in time
everywhen adv. (1943) (in time-travel contexts) in or to all points in time
flux capacitor n. (1981) in the film Back to the Future and its sequels: the core component of the time machine made of a DeLorean automobile
grandfather paradox n. (1939) a paradox concerning the implications of time travel, expressed by the idea that a time traveller could potentially go back into the past and (deliberately or inadvertently) kill his or her grandfather, thus preventing the time traveller’s existence and the possibility of having travelled back into the past in the first place; cf. time paradox n.
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)
nowhen adv. (1982) (in time-travel contexts): in or at no time
somewhen adv. (1894) in time-travel contexts: another time; in or to another time
TARDIS n. 1 (1963) in the British television series Doctor Who: a time machine having the outward form of a police telephone box; (hence) any means of travelling through time
temporal loop n. (1975) = time loop n.
temporal paradox n. (1954) = time paradox n.
time n. (1866) time viewed as a medium through which travel into the past or future is hypothesized or imagined to be possible
time barrier n. (1933) something (either inherent or created) that prevents travel through time
time cop n. (1953) a member of the time police n.
time crime n. (1955) a violation of time travel laws, esp. an illegal attempt to change the past; such violations collectively; cf. time police n.
time fault n. (1934) a disturbance in time; a place where time travel is possible, or where time progresses in unpredictable ways; cf. time-slip n., time storm n.
time hopper n. 1 (1955) = time machine n.
time hopper n. 2 (1967) = time traveller n.
timeline n. (1935) the set of all events from past to future, esp. when regarded as one of many possible such sets
time loop n. (1936) a (short) repeating period of time, typically one which (some) people are aware they are experiencing repeatedly
time lord n. (1969) in the British television series Doctor Who: one of a race of humanoid aliens from the planet Gallifrey who are able to control time-travel technology
time machine n. (1894) a device capable of transporting a person backwards or forwards in time n.
time paradox n. (1942) a paradox caused by an action of a time traveller which alters history so that the action is no longer logically possible or sensible, such as travelling into the past to kill a dictator which leads to a peaceful world from which the time traveller would have had no reason to depart; cf. grandfather paradox n., temporal paradox n.
time-path n. (1934) = timestream n.
time patrol n. (1955) = time police n.
time police n. (1950) officers who regulate time travel or other time-related phenomena; (specif.) officers who travel through time to attempt to prevent the past from being changed; a (government) body responsible for time-related phenomena
timequake n. (1954) a sudden significant disturbance in the continuity of time; cf. time storm n., time-slip n.
time radio n. (1934) a device that allows messages (but not physical objects) to be sent across time
time-slip n. (1941) a rift or flaw in the fabric of time that allows travel between two or more periods of time or timelines; any accidental or unexplained movement between periods of time; cf. timequake n., time storm n.
time storm n. (1942) a disturbance in time that can bring people and things from different times into the same timeline; cf. timequake n., time-slip n.
timestream n. (1931) the sequence of all events in time, considered notionally as a flow capable of being altered to form different timelines
time track n. (1931) = timeline n.
time travel n. (1914) the activity of travelling into the past or future; hypothetical movement through time n.
time travel v. (1933) to travel through time n.
time traveller n. (1894) one who travels through time n.
time-travelling n. (1894) the activity of travelling into the past or future; hypothetical movement through time
time-travelling adj. (1904) that or who travels through time n.
time viewer n. (1940) = chronoscope n.
time war n. (1950) = changewar n.
time warp n. (1937) a distortion of space-time by which people or objects at one point in time can be (instantly) moved to another, or within which time moves at a different speed