xenologist n.

a person who studies aliens; a specialist in xenology n.

  • 1949 L. S. de Camp Animal-Cracker Plot in Astounding Science Fiction July 69/1 page image L. Sprague de Camp bibliography

    I know more about extraterrestrial life than most professional xenologists.

  • 1955 T. Sturgeon Who? in Galaxy Science Fiction Mar. 116/1 page image Theodore Sturgeon bibliography

    His passengers in coldpacks and a cargo of serums, refractories, machine tools and food concentrate for the xenologists and mineralogists who were crazy enough to work out there.

  • 1960 ‘D. Gordon’ Mercenaries Unlimited in Fantastic Universe Feb. 40/2 page image Randall Garrett bibliography

    A small, wiry man named Dr. Theodore Reiner had been hobnobbing with certain members of the New Boston Academy of Sciences, concentrating mainly on friendships with archeologists [sic], xenologists, and linguists.

  • 1978 M. D. Broxon Singularity in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine May–June 151 page image Mildred Downey Broxon bibliography

    As a xenologist this is your last chance to observe the natives. We would send a larger team, but our budget for pure research is limited.

  • 1989 A. D. Foster Quozl iii. 31 Alan Dean Foster bibliography

    The xenologist would have to be female, since the idea of taking an unbalanced crew was unthinkable.

  • 2001 Locus June 23/2

    The mission ends up including…a number of xenologists.

  • 2001 tr. ‘Ayerdhal’ Flickering in Interzone (#167) May 6/2 page image bibliography

    I'm a xenologist and, since earning my degree, I've focused exclusively on communities descended from humans who were genetically modified to survive in a hostile environment.

  • 2013 J. Gunn Transcendental 176 page image James E. Gunn bibliography

    My father, who was a xenologist, taught human history, psychology, and languages.

Research requirements

antedating 1949
Earliest cite

1949 L. S. de Camp 'The Animal-Cracker Plot'
Research History
Mike Christie submitted a 1949 cite from L. Sprague de Camp's "The Animal-Cracker Plot".

Earliest cite in the OED: 1954.

Last modified 2023-12-06 14:43:33
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.