alien life form n.

= alien n.

Aliens

  • [1928 J. Williamson Metal Man in Amazing Stories Dec. 796/2 page image Jack Williamson bibliography

    It was a terribly, utterly alien form of life. It was not human, not animal—not even life as we know it at all. And yet it had intelligence. But it was strange and foreign and devoid of feeling.]

  • [1931 E. E. Smith Spacehounds of IPC in Amazing Stories Sept. 557/1 page image Edward E. Smith bibliography

    I have thought of it at length. It is disgusting. Compelled to traffic with an alien form of life! ]

  • [1936 F. B. Long, Jr. Cones in Astounding Stories Feb. 130/1 page image Frank Belknap Long bibliography

    Life everywhere is so stupendously complex…. But perhaps it all came about by chance, even the strange and utterly alien life forms that must exist here.]

  • 1937 H. Kuttner Raider of the Spaceways in Weird Tales July 64/2 page image Henry Kuttner bibliography

    It’s a unicellular creature—Janna told me—an alien life-form, developed along lines unfamiliar to us.

  • 1937 A. K. Barnes ‘Whiz-Bangs’ of Venus in Thrilling Wonder Stories Oct. 123/1 page image Arthur K. Barnes

    As in the past, I have tried not to invent things that are too far removed from life as we know it on this Earth. The weird ‘whip’, for instance, has its Earthly counterpart not only in the ant-eater, but in the sphinx-moth, which sports a hoselike tongue a good deal longer than its own body. Cousins to the ‘Venusian buzzard’ can be found under any microscope in the biology lab. While the Murri, of course, finds its obvious image in the Proboscis Monkey…. I do this because I feel that if a reader has some basis of comparison, when reading about alien life forms, he will be able to visualize the story more clearly and perhaps give himself an added measure of enjoyment and appreciation.

  • 1946 A. B. Chandler Lady Dog in Astounding Science Fiction Mar. 127/1 page image A. Bertram Chandler bibliography

    Very interesting. Very interesting!… A most definite alien life form. Of course, may be mutation. Can’t tell. Haven’t the facilities.

  • 1951 M. Reynolds Case of Little Green Men 18 Mack Reynolds bibliography

    We want to employ you to investigate the presence of such alien life forms.

  • 1965 L. Niven World of Ptavvs in Worlds of Tomorrow Mar. 25/1 page image Larry Niven bibliography

    If Kzanol had not spent so many years controlling alien life forms, growing used to the feel of alien thoughts, his whole personality would have been drowned.

  • 1970 A. Norton Dread Companion (1984) 44 Andre Norton bibliography

    A poohka was an alien life-form from off-world and created with its small, furry body the instant desire to cuddle—a perfect pet.

  • 1972 A. D. Foster Tar-Aiym Krang 122 Alan Dean Foster bibliography

    While engaged in exploration and colonization, he had encountered many other alien life-forms.

  • 1984 D. N. Samuelson Critical Mass in T. D. Clareson & T. L. Wymer Voices for Future 3 113

    The undeclared war escalates into nuclear conflict because of an alien life form in the city, a life form whose existence was unsuspected until the end.

  • 2015 Starburst (#419) Dec. 56/1 page image

    He…tries to reason with Saxton, pleading with him to let him live so that the alien life form that has been on the planet for two million years can continue to thrive.

Research requirements

antedating 1937
Earliest cite

Henry Kuttner, in Weird Tales
Research History
Sue Surova has submitted a 1968 cite from "The Making of Star Trek".
Bee Ostrowsky submitted a 1951 cite from Mack Reynolds' "The Case of the Little Green Men".
Mike Christie submitted a cite from a 1984 reprint of Andre Norton's 1970 "Dread Companion".
Mike Christie submitted a cite from a 1984 reprint of David Samuelson's 1980 "Critical Mass: The Science Fiction of Frederik Pohl".
Enoch Forrester submitted a cite from a reprint of Larry Niven's "World of Ptavvs"; Mike Christie verified the cite in the 1965 original magazine appearance.
Enoch Forrester submitted a cite from a reprint of Alan Dean Foster's "The Tar-Aiym Krang"; Douglas Winston verified the cite in the 1972 first edition.
Enoch Forrester submitted a 1946 cite from A. Bertram Chandler's "Lady Dog".
Fred Galvin submitted a cite from an editorial blurb in Comet magazine for July 1941.
Fred Galvin submitted a 1937 cite from an author's note by Arthur K. Barnes in Thrilling Wonder Stories.
Jesse Sheidlower submitted a 1937 cite from Henry Kuttner in Weird Tales.

For early bracketed entries, Rick Hauptmann submitted a 1931 cite for the form "alien form of life" from E.E. Smith's "Spacehounds of IPC"; and Fred Galvin submitted a 1928 cite for "alien form of life" from Jack Williamson's "Metal Man" and a 1936 cite for "utterly alien forms of life" from Frank Belknap Long in Astounding.
We would still like pre-1937 cites for the usual form.

Last modified 2024-11-17 00:09:25
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.