Ganymedian adj.

of, relating to, or from Ganymede, the largest satellite of Jupiter

Also Ganymedean.

  • 1928 F. J. Breuckel Moon Men in Amazing Stories Nov. 726/1 page image Frank J. Brueckel, Jr. bibliography

    The morning after the long, chilly, dark Ganymedean night, we again resumed the march. [Ibid. 727/1] ‘Yes, it is,’ I agreed, thinking not of Ganymedean nomenclature, but of terrestrial.

  • 1931 J‘. Maxwell’ Outpost on the Moon in Wonder Stories 1017/1 page image Joslyn Maxwell bibliography

    We were approaching a Ganymedian city.

  • 1935 R. Z. Gallun Derelict in Astounding Stories Oct. 24/1 page image Raymond Z. Gallun bibliography

    He kept hearing the weird screams of the Loathi echoing inside him; he kept seeing…their batlike bodies swooping crazily out of the Ganymedean night.

  • 1944 Planet Stories Spring 111/2

    Even the full capacity of the mind of a Ganymedean savage wasn’t sufficient to develop a spaceship.

  • 1965 J. Green Dance of the Cats in New Worlds Dec. 72 page image Joseph Green bibliography

    Burkalter served his guests himself, stiff cocktails made with a base of the fabulously expensive maquella, the drinks in Ganymedian crystal glasses of striking beauty.

  • 1995 P. Di Filippo Take Me to the Pilot in Asimov’s Science Fiction Aug. 52 page image Paul Di Filippo bibliography

    All living things coexist harmoniously side by side in the oververse. Beetles, cacti, whales, Ganymedean slime worms….

  • 2016 C. Pak Terraforming ii. 88

    This outlaw community lives at the fringes of the Ganymedean society.

Research requirements

antedating 1928
Earliest cite

Frank Breuckel, in Amazing Stories
Research History
Fred Galvin submitted a 1947 cite from Henry Hasse's "Trail of the Astrogar".
Fred Galvin submitted a 1952 cite from Poul Anderson's "Captive of the Centaurianess".
Fred Galvin submitted a 1948 cite from Murray Leinster's "Space-Can".
Jeff Prucher submitted a 1940 cite from Eando Binder's "The Gems of Life".
Fred Galvin submitted a cite from a 1996 reprint of Raymond Z. Gallun's 1935 "Derelict" for the form "Ganymedean"; Mike Christie verified it in the first publication.
Fred Galvin submitted a 1946 cite for the form "Gannymedan" from A. Bertram Chandler's "Stability".
Fred Galvin submitted a cite from a 1953 reprint of Fredric Brown's 1944 "And the Gods Laughed".
Fred Galvin submitted a 1946 cite from Emmett McDowell's "Beyond the Yellow Fog".
Bee Ostrowsky submitted a 1928 cite from Frank Breuckel.
Unsubmitted cites:
Jeff Prucher submitted 10/18/02 from the Nov. 1940 TWS (120/2) letter column.
Jeff Prucher submitted 10/18/02 from the April 1931 Wonder Stories (1338/2) letter column, referencing a story in the Feb. '31 issue.
While this is not necessarily an SF word, the OED does not currently list an adjectival form for the moon of Jupiter.

Last modified 2023-11-03 12:44:20
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.