Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
Where did the word cyborg come from? What were the earliest contexts for the term dystopia? How differently did writers use telepath in the 19th century versus the 21st century? Does fangirl really date back to the 1930s?
Perhaps these questions are of little consequence to you, or perhaps they are mildly intriguing and are curious fragments of larger multi-polar interrogations of sci-fi language you have floating about in the back of your mind.
The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction is a young, ongoing project that crowdsources research materials to provide definitions and critical history behind an array of terminology native to literature in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The dictionary includes several subjects, such as dimensions, robotics, time travel, vehicles, aliens, weaponry, and more. The self-appointed goal of the historical lexicography is "to find examples that show exactly how a word has been used throughout its history."
➔ Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
