hyperspeed n.

a speed faster than the speed of light

In 1951 quot., used figuratively.

FTL

  • 1951 ‘E. K. Jarvis’ He Knew What He Wanted in Fantastic Adventures Dec. 65/2 page image E. K. Jarvis bibliography

    His eyes were sharply surveying every visible inch of the liner, searching for possible sources of danger. His thoughts were rushing at hyperspeed, sifting every possible angle in search of a potential trap.

  • 1954 ‘A. Barclay’ Firebird in New Worlds Aug. 96 page image Alan Barclay bibliography

    The dark blob was the battleship Euripides of the Sol Confederation Fleet, and the flicker occurred as it slowed from hyper-speed at the end of its long journey.

  • 1956 M. Z. Bradley Death Between the Stars in Fantastic Universe Mar. 72/1 page image Marion Zimmer Bradley bibliography

    The acceleration of a hyperspeed ship would knock my shipmate into complete prostration.

  • 1959 ‘L. del Rey’ Mine Host, Mine Adversary in Fantastic Universe Oct. 8/2 page image Lester del Rey bibliography

    The leap to hyperspeed was smooth, indicating the engineer knew his job.

  • 1969 I. Asimov Feminine Intuition in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Oct. 8/1 page image Isaac Asimov bibliography

    We can’t use the hyper-speed drive except perhaps once as a demonstration…. The Space Jump is risky; it’s fearfully prodigal of energy and therefore it’s enormously expensive.

  • 1997 R. Hatch & C. Golden Battlestar Galactica: Armageddon xx. 247 Richard Hatch Christopher Golden bibliography

    Sometime in the last centon…the ship seems to have slipped away. It did have hyperspeed capacity, and we can only suppose that the prisoners somehow managed to wrest control of the vessel.

  • 2011 T. Zahn Act of War in In Fire Forged 92 page image Timothy Zahn bibliography

    Do you have any idea how much this will cost to fix? Or how much it’s going to cost us in acceleration and hyper speed until it is?

Research requirements

antedating 1951
Earliest cite

‘E.K. Jarvis’ (a group pseudonym used by multiple writers; actual author unknown) in Fantastic Adventures
Research History
Ben Ostrowsky submitted a 2011 cite from Timothy Zahn.
Jesse Sheidlower found a figurative 1951 example in Fantastic Adventures, in a not-visible online search result; Jacek Dobrzyniecki confirmed it from a different copy of the source.

Last modified 2021-09-08 22:45:10
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.