shipper n.

a person who discusses, portrays, or advocates a romantic pairing of two characters who appear in a work of (serial) fiction, esp. when such a pairing is not depicted in the original work

Fancyclopedia


SF Fandom

  • 1996 DD on Frasier in alt.tv.x-files (Usenet newsgroup) 8 May

    David Duchovny was guest-voice ‘Tom’ on Last night’s Frasier. (Courtesy of the ’shippers list.)

  • 1998 Time 22 June 70/3

    I have also flamed ‘shippers’ (‘relationshippers’, those who want Mulder and Scully to get it on in the film) with now embarrassing vituperations.

  • 2000 L. Miller in Salon.com 6 July page image Laura Miller

    In the long tradition of ‘shipper’ fan-fiction…this tale concerns itself with the complicated and often painful romantic tension between Hermione and Harry.

  • 2007 Sectus (Programme of Unofficial Harry Potter Conf., 19–22 July) 35

    For Snape and Harry shippers, the odds are high indeed!

  • 2014 San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News (Electronic ed.) 14 Mar. e1

    The film awkwardly addresses lingering feelings between Veronica and Logan, a plot line the so-called ‘shippers’ were always hung up on.

Research requirements

antedating 1996
Research History
Originally suggested by Faith Lawrence in 2002. Comments: "In some fandoms (for example Stargate where there can be a certain amount of shipper/slasher tension) it implies a heterosexual pairing while in other fandoms it covers any romantic relationship. The term is believed to come from relationSHIP(per)."

Last modified 2022-01-14 14:25:26
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.