epithalamium

en-noun

epithalamium (plural epithalamiums or epithalamia)

epithalamiums (plural)
epithalamia (plural)

/ɛpɪθəˈleɪmɪəm/

Learned borrowing from Latin epithalamium, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐπιθαλάμιον (epithalámion, “bridal song”), neuter form of ἐπιθαλάμιος (epithalámios), from ἐπί (epí, “upon”) + θάλαμος (thálamos, “inner chamber, wedding chamber”).

der

Softly she laughed and sighed, and swift her glances flew. She shook her heavy tresses, and their perfume filled the place; she struck her little sandalled foot upon the floor, and hummed a snatch of some old Greek epithalamium.

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

He has wittily redone a tardy epithalamium and some nursery rhymes ("Three blind eunuchs"), and deftly catches the cozy lawnfuls of plastic dwarfs and flamingos, outside the kenneled people.

1976, Choice - Volume 13, Issues 8-12, page 1300:


suspended animation

(science fiction) The deliberate slowing of the body's functions, sometimes by the use of cryonics, on long interstellar journeys.


hamadryad

en-noun

hamadryad (plural hamadryads or hamadryades)

hamadryads (plural)
hamadryades (plural)

From Latin Hamadryas, from Ancient Greek Ἁμαδρυάς (Hamadruás), from ἅμα (háma, “together”) + δρῦς (drûs, “tree”).

af

The hamadryades have gone, like the golden fancies of which they were engendered—morning dreams of a young world scarce awake, but full of freshness and beauty. Yet often will the thought, or rather the fancy, come across me, that this wailing but most musical noise—heard in the dim evening, when every tree has a separate sound like a separate instrument, and every leaf a differing tone like the differing notes—is the piteous lament of some nymph pent within the gray and mossy trunk whence she may never more emerge in visible loveliness.

1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVIII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 301:

The various supports, rafters, braces and plates are of pandanus logs of a rich oily brown, and make one think of a sylvan cathedral where hamadryads might very well dance, where Syrinx might be chased by Pan, Daphne by Apollo, and various other heathen rites take place in the dark hours before the dawn.

1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka, Eland, published 2019, page 106:

(Greek mythology) A wood-nymph who was physically a part of her tree; she would die if her tree were felled.

Papio hamadryas
Papio hamadryas#Translingual

A baboon of species Papio hamadryas, venerated by the ancient Egyptians.

Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genera Hamadryas and Tellervo.


time bomb

Even so, they managed to morph the recent European parliamentary elections into a time bomb and plant it under their country’s own future.

2014 June 6, Françoise Fressoz, “France’s Ticking Time Bomb”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Someone must explain to Sunak about the time bomb ticking beneath his £1,000 loafers.

2023 May 31, Nigel Harris, “Comment: GBR now! We have no Plan B”, in RAIL, number 984, page 3:

The pandemic preparation timebomb detonated to devastating effect; a number of other timebombs are on the shortest of fuses. The government has now reached a state of perfect vicious cycle, when the only thing worse than the things it does are all the things it didn’t get round to doing.

2023 June 30, Marina Hyde, “The tide is coming in fast on Rishi Sunak – and it’s full of sewage”, in The Guardian:

(figuratively) A situation that threatens to have disastrous consequences at some future time.


nixie

From German Nixe, feminine of Nix, from Middle High German nickes, from Old High German nihhus (“water-elf, crocodile”), from Proto-Germanic *nikwus, *nikwis, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *neygʷ- (“to wash”).
Cognate with Old English nicor (“water-elf, hippopotamus, walrus”), English nicker.

cog

The place seems to have been fashioned as a dwelling for dryads and hamadryads, for nixies and pixies, and all the fabled spirits of forest and stream.

1916, Rex Beach, Rainbow's End, published 2008, page 1:

Bare from her garters up her flesh appears under the sapphire a nixie’s green.

1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

In medieval times, the image of the double fish tailed siren was called a nixie or evil water spirit. Yet, the nixies were more likely daughters of the primordial goddess named Nyx or mother night, who hovered over ancient waters, rather than evil spirits.

2011, Katalin Koda, Fire of the Goddess, page 83:


time warp

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-time warp.wav

But as the reports on the Bild investigation suggest, the company’s workplace culture may be stuck in a time warp.

2021 October 17, Ben Smith, “At Axel Springer, Politico’s New Owner, Allegations of Sex, Lies and a Secret Payment”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(science fiction) A hypothetical discontinuity in the flow of time that would uncausally move events from one time period to another.

(video games) Acceleration of in-game time relative to real-world time.


time warp

en-verb

time warp (third-person singular simple present time warps, present participle time warping, simple past and past participle time warped)

time warps (present singular third-person)
time warping (participle present)
time warped (participle past)
time warped (past)

(science fiction, transitive, intransitive) To travel through time in such a manner.

(intransitive) To perform the time warp dance.


kryptonite

kryptonite (third-person singular simple present kryptonites, present participle kryptoniting, simple past and past participle kryptonited)

kryptonites (present singular third-person)
kryptoniting (participle present)
kryptonited (participle past)
kryptonited (past)

From a fictional radioactive element, kryptonite, that has a detrimental effect on the otherwise invulnerable character Superman. Apparently formed as krypton (“a chemical element, Kr”) + -ite.

affix

(figuratively) To destroy, wreck, or ruin; to affect adversely, as Superman is affected by kryptonite.


Ivanhoe

/ˈaɪvənˌhəʊ/

/ˈɑɪvənˌhəʉ/

A name invented by Scott, possibly inspired by the village Ivinghoe.

census-designated place
census-designated place

A census-designated place in Tulare County, California, United States.


pyrokinesis

(parapsychology, fantasy, science fiction) The ability to set objects or people on fire or to supernaturally project fire from one's own being through the concentration of psychic power.

控火

the ability to set objects or people on fire


DM

en-verb

DM (third-person singular simple present DMs, present participle DMing, simple past and past participle DMed or DM'd)

DMs (present singular third-person)
DMing (participle present)
DMed (participle past)
DMed (past)
DM'd (participle past)
DM'd (past)

To Dungeon Master; to perform as a dungeon master; to run a tabletop role-playing game.


wirehead

(science fiction) A person who has an electronic brain implant.


crop circle

An area in a field of crops where the stalks have been flattened into a circle or other geometric shape, performed as a prank or sometimes ascribed to UFO activity etc.


panther

From Middle English panter, panther, pantere, from Old French pantere, from Latin panthēra, from Ancient Greek πάνθηρ (pánthēr, “panther”).

der

(mythology, heraldry) A creature resembling a big cat, typically incensed (“emitting fire”), and often having a multicolored hide, found in Ancient Greek mythology and in medieval and later heraldry (in which its depiction sometimes approaches that of a horse).


Miss Right

He waited for years and years, hoping someday to find Miss Right.

(idiomatic) A perfect, ideal or suitable female companion, especially a wife.


chibi

en-noun

chibi (countable and uncountable, plural chibis)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-chibi.wav

Borrowed from Japanese ちび (chibi, “something small; runt, dwarf; pipsqueak”)

bor+

(countable) A child-like character with exaggerated features, particularly in anime.


Doitsu

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Doitsu.wav

From Japanese ドイツ (Doitsu, “Germany”) with influence from the anime Hetalia: Axis Powers; ultimately from Dutch Duits. Doublet of Dutch and Deutsch.

emTeX is from Eberhard Mattes, I believe a PhD student in Stuttgart, Doitsu.

1992 October 5, Eugene N. Miya, “[l/m 6/5/91] Soc.culture.japan references”, in soc.culture.japan (Usenet):

i'm from doitsu!

2003 March 27, FuNG [username], “icq people from japan?”, in japan.app.icq (Usenet):

How are things in Doitsu?

2008 June 18, mozark [username], “Re: My Whining 2008 Scorecard”, in alt.sports.basketball.nba.la-lakers (Usenet):

List of Hetalia: Axis Powers characters#Germany


ufology

en-noun

ufology (countable and uncountable, plural ufologies)

/ˌjuːɛfˈɑləd͡ʒi/

I'm an expert in my field
Ufology, yes, it's all real
Ancient aliens, it's all true
I'm an expert just like you

2016, Neil Cicierega (lyrics and music), “Touch-Tone Telephone”, in Spirit Phone, performed by Lemon Demon:


ufologist

Still, something strange was afoot in Rendlesham, and even if the file is unlikely to satisfy either ufologists or debunkers, it suggests that the truth is still out there.

2002 December 8, Scott Veale, “Word for Word/The Rendlesham File; Let There Be Lights: Britons Get One Less Thing to Worry About”, in The New York Times:

But fear of abduction never stopped a good ufologist.

2010, Monte Dwyer, Red in the Centre: Through a Crooked Lens, Monyer Pty Ltd, page 122:


neo

Ken Bulmer pointed out that the attitude of a fan who had read much sf is different from that of a neo who is reading sf for the first time.

1964 April 2, Bennett Ron, Skyrack, number 65:

This fabulous fannish cover illustrated the three stages of fandom: the neo, the trufan, and the BNF.

1976 August 25, Ian Maule, Checkpoint, number 72:

Edwina, and neofen of her generation (this is not a criticism - everyone starts out as a neo), being new to sffandom, and not a member of faandom, would not have noticed this.

1996 November 3, Richard J. Faulder, Gegenschein, number 80:

(dated, fandom slang, science fiction) Clipping of neofan.


ogress

Borrowed in the early 1700s from French ogresse, equivalent to ogre + -ess.

And in the seventh tale of the third day of the same collection, when Corvetto had hidden himself under the Ogre's bed to steal his quilt, "he began to pull quite gently, when the Ogre awoke, and bid his wife not to pull the clothes that way, or she'd strip him, and he would get his death of cold." "Why, it's you that are stripping me," replied the Ogress, "and you have not left a stitch on me." "Where the devil is the quilt?" says the Ogre[.]

1828, Thomas Keightley, Fairy Mythology, volume II, page 237:

Dear me, Mimsey!. . . you are perfectly outrageous! Do you think I'm an ogress ready to eat her up? On the contrary, I mean to be a friend to her.


flashback

→ German: Flashback

→ Spanish: flashback

→ Norwegian: flashback

→ Portuguese: flashback

(authorship) A dramatic device in which an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological flow of a narrative.

salt enrere

a dramatic device in which an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological flow of a narrative


invisibility

invisibility (countable and uncountable, plural invisibilities)

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From Middle French invisibilité, from Latin invisibilitas.


frigate

From French frégate, from Italian fregata.

Frigates are light escort and scouting vessels. They often have extensive GARDIAN systems to provide anti-fighter screening for capital ships, and carry a squad of marines for security and groundside duty. Unlike larger vessels, frigates are able to land on planets.

2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Starships: Frigates Codex entry:

(fiction) A warship or space warship, inspired by one of the many historic varieties of frigate.


battlecruiser

Blend of battleship + cruiser, from being a cruiser-like ship with battleship-like capabilities and possibly operating in the battleline.

(fiction) A warship of intermediate size and/or capability between a heavy cruiser and a (light) battleship.


only child

An only child is often stereotyped as spoiled.

Tali: It's my father. He's the senior member of the Admiralty Board. He's one of only five people who can overrule the decisions of the Conclave for the good of the Migrant Fleet.
Tali: My father is responsible for the lives of seventeen million people -- our entire race is in his hands. And I'm his only child.

2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Normandy SR-1:

A person who has no siblings; a person raised as the sole child in a household.


Buffyverse

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS) is a televisual artifact that contains apocalyptic rhetoric in most episodes—apocalyptic in the sense that something is about to end in the Buffyverse, and rhetorical in the sense that something is going to change in the Buffyverse.

2009, Kylo-Patrick R. Hart, Annette Holba, Media and the Apocalypse, page 77:

2009, Kevin K. Durand, It's All about Power, in Kevin K. Durand (editor), Buffy Meets the Academy: Essays on the Episodes and Scripts as Text, Part I: Power and the Buffy Canon, page 46,
In the Buffyverse, we encounter a true representation of shared power, of partnered power. Further, the “bad guys” are not the only paradigms of patriarchy in the Buffyverse that are overcome.

We can hardly be surprised when Buffy and Satsu find what warmth they can, as Willow does with her demon lover, in an intercut sex scene of the kind which typically precedes an apocalypse in the Buffyverse (#15, p. 26). Scenes like this confirm Em McAvan's point that the Buffyverse associates bisexuality with kink (paragraph 15).

2010, Lewis Call, “Slaying the Heteronormative: Representations of Alternative Sexuality in Buffy Season Eight Comics”, in Erin B. Waggoner, editor, Sexual Rhetoric in the Works of Joss Whedon: New Essays, page 115:

(fandom slang) The fictional world, or universe, which serves as the setting for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


Ruritania

Used by Anthony Hope as a setting for his novels.


draconologist

As such, his pamphlet is unlikely to appeal either to serious draconologists and cryptozoologists, or to newcomers to the field, who would probably be better served by any of the many book-length cryptozoological tours available.

1997, Mike Dash, “Water Dragons: A Guide to Lake Serpent Legends Around the World (review)”, in Fortean Times, numbers 102-106, →ISSN:

In the words of one prominent draconologist “No dragon exists — none ever did exist” (Ingersoll 1928: 13).

2000, Robert Blust, “The Origin of Dragons”, in Anthropos, volume 95, number 2, page 522:

The expeditions and adventures described in this book have been performed under the guidance of trained observers, experts and draconologists.

2012 June 26, William O'Connor, Dracopedia The Great Dragons: An Artist's Field Guide and Drawing Journal, Cincinnati: Impact, →ISBN, →OL, page 6:


harlequin

From earlier Harlicken, from Middle French Harlequin (in Italian Arlecchino, the name of a popular servant character in commedia dell'arte plays), from Old French Harlequin, Halequin, Herlequin, Hellequin, Hierlekin, Hellekin (a demon, malevolent spirit), probably of Germanic origin, connected to the Old English figure of Herla Cyning (“King Herla”, a mythical figure identified with Woden) or possibly to Old Frisian helle kin, Old English helle cyn, Old Norse heljar kyn (“the kindred of Hell”). Related to Middle English Hurlewain (“a mischievous sprite or goblin”).

cog

Brightly colored, especially in a pattern like that of a harlequin clown's clothes.


therianthrope

/ˈθɛɹ.i.ənˌθɹoʊp/

From Ancient Greek θηρίον (thēríon, “wild beast”) + Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “man”).

af

Among the depictions are a black rhinoceros, the body of an antelope covered by a red line, two white animals with black stripes that may be zebras, and a therianthrope. The therianthrope (Figure 9.11) appears to have a feline body with human hind legs that may have been added after the original legs had faded somewhat (Wendt 1974:27).

2016, Carmel Schrire, Past and Present in Hunter Gatherer Studies, Routledge, →ISBN:

One appears to have a large beak while another has an appendage resembling a tail. In the language of archaeology, these are therianthropes, or characters that embody a mix of human and animal characteristics. […] The otherworldly nature of the therianthropes also raises the possibility that they are mythical beings, or manifestations of “animal spirit helpers” that are common in shamanic beliefs, according to the study.

2019 December 11, Becky Ferreira, “Mythical Beings May Be Earliest Imaginative Cave Art by Humans”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(mythology) Any mythical being which is part human, part animal.

homme-bête

any mythical being which is part human, part animal


hotshot

Indeed, development proceeded so rapidly thereafter that Mopac, for instance, was rebuilding a series of 10-year-old Woodard 2-8-4's into 4-8-4's by 1940 - not because they couldn't steam but because their 63-inch drivers couldn't roll the hotshots fast enough.

1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co.:

(US, rail transport) A fast freight train.

I sniffed glue, transmission fluid, gasoline, whatever drug anybody gave me, I took. […] [Y]ears ago, I was in a drug rehabilitation program and found out that my brother was killed after somebody gave him a hotshot, drugs laced with poison.

1997, Andi Rierden, The Farm: Life inside a women's prison, page 120:

(slang) A dose of recreational drugs deliberately laced with poison.


hotshot

en-verb

hotshot (third-person singular simple present hotshots, present participle hotshotting, simple past and past participle hotshotted)

hotshots (present singular third-person)
hotshotting (participle present)
hotshotted (participle past)
hotshotted (past)

(transitive, slang) To give (somebody) a dose of recreational drugs deliberately laced with poison.


cromulent

en-adj

cromulent (comparative more cromulent, superlative most cromulent)

more cromulent (comparative)
most cromulent (superlative)

A humorous, intentionally morphologically opaque neologism and nonce word coined by American television writer David X. Cohen (born 1966) for “Lisa the Iconoclast”, a 1996 episode of the animated sitcom The Simpsons. The ending resembles corpulent, temulent and other Latinate adjectives (derived from -ulentus (“full of, abounding in”)).

coin

Mrs. Krabappel: "Embiggens"? I never heard that word before moving to Springfield.
Ms. Hoover: I don't know why; it's a perfectly cromulent word.
[…]
Principal Skinner: He's embiggened that role with his cromulent performance.

1996 February 18, David X. Cohen, “Lisa the Iconoclast”, in The Simpsons, season 7, episode 16, production code 3F13:

Nerdcore could rise up, it could get elevated.
Oh, and wouldn’t all of those tough rappers hate it
if the nerdcore rose up and got elevated.
We consider the possibleness of this not overstated.
And I know that "possibleness" is not a cromulent word;
every syllable injected is intended to be the one you heard
(an absurd juxtaposition of mission and goal).

2005 August 27, MC Frontalot (lyrics and music), “Nerdcore Rising”, in Nerdcore Rising:

He had a boundless passion for music and entertained many with his beautiful voice and perfectly cromulent sense of humor.

2006 April 10, “Obituaries and in memoriams: Benjamin Sidney Linton”, in The Charlotte Observer:

Of course, you may encounter a new program that doesn't work reliably with UNC paths, and this is a perfectly cromulent workaround.

2008, David A. Karp, “Users and Security”, in John Osborn, Laurel R. T. Ruma, editors, Windows Vista Annoyances (Tips, Secrets and Solutions), Sebastopol, California: O'Reilly Media, →ISBN, →OL, page 505:

There are certainly other cromulent techniques which may perform well for certain models and assumptions.

2008, Alan M. Polansky, “Connections and Comparisons”, in Observed Confidence Levels: Theory and Application, Boca Raton, Florida: Chapman & Hall/CRC Press, →ISBN, →OL, section 7.3 (Multiple Comparisons), page 216:

How well does this function work? For positive integers, it's perfectly cromulent: […]

2009, Bryan O'Sullivan, John Goerzen, Don Stewart, “Functional Programming”, in Mike Loukides, editor, Real World Haskell (Code You Can Believe In), Sebastopol, California: O'Reilly Media, →ISBN, →OL, page 86:

(humorous) Acceptable, satisfactory, or valid.


empathic

en-adj

empathic (comparative more empathic, superlative most empathic)

more empathic (comparative)
most empathic (superlative)

(science fiction) Of, pertaining to, or being an empath: of or having the capability of sensing the emotions of others.


xenoglossy

en-noun

xenoglossy (countable and uncountable, plural xenoglossies)

From xeno- + -glossia, borrowed from French xénoglossie.

The most well-documented case of xenoglossy, however, concerned Swiss Medium Hélène Smith (1861-1929), who falsely claimed to speak the Martian language.

2007 September 1, J. Gordon Melton, The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena, Canton: Visible Ink, →ISBN, →OL, keyword “xenoglossy”, page 359:

Knowledge of a language one has never learned.

زينوغلوسيا

knowledge of a language one has never learned


ghostbuster

From ghost + buster, popularized by the 1984 film Ghostbusters.

Someone who purports to rid a place of ghosts.


caretaker

(chiefly Canada, US) Someone who takes care of a person; a parent, carer or other guardian.


King Kong

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-King Kong.wav

A fictional giant ape, the eponymous star of several movies.


groupie

In traditional military fashion our "Groupie" (group captain) called us to attention, exchanged salutes with his German opposite number, then handed the parade over to him.

1995, John D. Harvie, Missing in Action: An RCAF Navigator's Story, page 136:


Apollonian

/æpəˈləʊnɪ.ən/

From Latin Apollō (Apollōn-) + -ian and Apollonius/Apollonia + -an.

2008, C. G. Stevenson, The Apollonian Appearance: The Being from the Planet Apollo, →ISBN:

At first, when the Apollonians converged on her, Mary Theresa thought she had made a major mistake by going to the battle.

2013, Jim Henry, Universal Life Force Series Featuring Antiquity Calais Vol. 1-3, →ISBN:

The last person who tried this kind of appeal was actually the new vessel -- an Apollonian, one I knew briefly.

2013, James Bartholomeusz, The Grey Star, →ISBN, page 17:

(science fiction) A native of the planet Apollo.


space cadet

From the title of the 1948 science fiction novel Space Cadet, by Robert A. Heinlein.

(originally) A person in training to be a (generally military) astronaut, especially in science fiction.


Falstaff

From the name of a character invented by William Shakespeare for his Henry IV plays, and who also appeared in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

John Falstaff
The Merry Wives of Windsor
William Shakespeare


munchkin

en:Munchkin (disambiguation)
munchkin
munchkin (cat)

Coined by American author L. Frank Baum in 1900 in his novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Perhaps reflective of German Mensch or munch + -kin. Compare Low German Menschken and Low German Minschken

coinage

It'll also have a keyboard configured for a munchkin (...)

2009 August 25, Jonathan Salem Baskin, “Will Nokia's Next Chapter Be Kitchen Blenders?”, in InformationWeek's Digital Life Weblog:

(informal) A person of very short stature.

Alternative form of Munchkin (“domestic cat breed”)

(informal, slang) Synonym of donut hole (“ball-shaped pastry”) (genericization of the Dunkin' trademark "Munchkins")

donut hole

(informal) A pet name one uses for something adorable like a pet, child, or a romantic partner


Lunarian

From the stem of Latin lunaris (“of the moon, lunar”) + -ian.

(science fiction) An inhabitant of Earth's Moon (Luna): either an indigenous one or a human one.


Lunarian

(science fiction) Pertaining to the inhabitants of Luna (Lunarians).


Mercurian

(science fiction) An inhabitant of the planet Mercury.


Plutonian

en-adj

Plutonian (comparative more Plutonian, superlative most Plutonian)

more Plutonian (comparative)
most Plutonian (superlative)

The adjective is derived from Latin Plūtōnius (“of or relating to Pluto, Greek and Roman god of the underworld”) + -an (suffix forming adjectives). Plūtōnius is from Ancient Greek Πλουτώνιος (Ploutṓnios, “of or relating to Pluto”), from Πλούτων (Ploútōn, “Pluto”) (from πλοῦτος (ploûtos, “riches, wealth”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plew- (“to fly; to flow; to run”)) + -ων (-ōn)) + -ιος (-ios, suffix forming adjectives). The English word is cognate with Middle French plutonien (modern French plutonien). The noun is derived from the adjective.

plutonien

of, pertaining to, or supporting plutonism — see also Plutonic

[…] he through the midſt unmarkt, / In ſhew Plebeian Angel militant / Of loweſt order, paſt; and from the dore / Of that Plutonian Hall, inviſible / Aſcended his high Throne, […]

1674, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], 2nd edition, London: […] S[amuel] Simmons […], →OCLC, page 264:

["]Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore— / Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!" / Quoth the raven, "Nevermore."

1845 February, — Quarles [pseudonym; Edgar Allan Poe], “The Raven”, in The American Review, volume I, number II, New York, N.Y., London: Wiley & Putnam, […], →OCLC, page 144:

You rise by candle-light or gaslight, swearing / There never was a climate made like ours; / If rashly you go out to take an airing, / The soot-flakes come in black Plutonian show'rs.

1882 December 30, “A London Fog”, in Punch, or The London Charivari, volume 83, London: Published at the office, 85, Fleet Street, →OCLC, page 301, column 1:

Cotopaxi is striking not only because it looks like a science fiction conception of another planet; it also is the least realistic among [Frederic Edwin] Church's paintings of the area. […] Below the fiery sun is a lake with a barren shore. As such, the sun hangs over a Plutonian landscape.

2008, Rodrigo Lazo, “The Ends of Enchantment: Douglass, Melville, and U.S. Expansionism in the Americas”, in Robert S[teven] Levine, Samuel Otter, editors, Frederick Douglass & Herman Melville: Essays in Relation, Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, part I (Literary and Cultural Geographies), page 210:

(Greek mythology, Roman mythology) Of or relating to Pluto, the Greek and Roman god of the underworld; demonic, infernal.

Plutoniin liittyvä

of or relating to Pluto, the Greek and Roman god of the underworld


Plutonian

From Pluto (“dwarf planet in the Solar System”) + -n- + -ian (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘from, related to, or like’, or nouns meaning ‘one belonging to, relating to, or like’), probably influenced by Plutonian (“of or relating to Pluto, Greek and Roman god of the underworld”) (see etymology 1).

affix

Another and perhaps more Plutonian view of this would be that David's bondage to his mother and the codes of behaviour which she set for him had extended throughout his life, in both profes[s]ional and personal spheres; and that bondage now had an opportunity of loosening, with all the attendant consequences.

1985, Liz Greene, “Fate and Synchronicity”, in The Astrology of Fate, Boston, Mass.: Weiser Books, Red Wheel/Weiser, →ISBN, page 293:

The notion of toxicity is a useful one in our effort to understand the further implications of Pluto in the USA chart. [...] Factor in what we have learned about the second house and we get another meaning of waste, related but distinctly more Plutonian: debris that poses an elimination problem once its value has been used up.

2006 October 6, Jessica Murray, “Power Madness: Pluto and American Hegemony”, in Soul-sick Nation: An Astrologer’s View of America, Bloomington, Ind., Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 41:

(astrology) Pertaining to the astrological influence of Pluto, formerly regarded as a planet.

Plutoon liittyvä

pertaining to the astrological influence of Pluto, formerly regarded as a planet


Plutonian

If you are a Plutonian and some of these traits emphatically do not fit you, just let them go and take what is helpful and descriptive of you personally. What will be given is a composite picture, based on working with a great many Plutonians over the years. Plutonians who are negatively inclined are often very guarded and rigid, afraid to let others get close. [...] There are Plutonians who operate predominantly on the positive level—healing, transforming, transmuting themselves and those around them.

1986, Donna Cunningham, “The Personality and Character of the Plutonian”, in Healing Pluto Problems, Boston, Mass.: Weiser Books, Red Wheel/Weiser, →ISBN, page 28:

(astrology) A person under the astrological influence of Pluto, formerly regarded as a planet.

The Plutonians, who are almost extinct, once held a superscience that they have largely lost. Early Plutonian visits to Earth survived in folk memory as the devil, since Plutonians are gigantic, with horns, hooves, and tail.

1998, Everett F[ranklin] Bleiler, Richard Bleiler, “[Story Descriptions.] 1423. THE EARTHMAN’S BURDEN. Astounding Stories, June 1931, Ill. Paul.”, in Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years: A Complete Coverage of the Genre Magazines Amazing, Astounding, Wonder, and Others from 1926 through 1936, Kent, Oh., London: Kent State University Press, →ISBN, page 409, column 1:

(chiefly science fiction) An inhabitant of the dwarf planet Pluto.


Solarian

en-adj

Solarian (comparative more Solarian, superlative most Solarian)

more Solarian (comparative)
most Solarian (superlative)

(chiefly science fiction) Of or relating to the Sun.

He grinned at the profanity that came out of the communicator-speaker. Then—back at the irreverently nicknamed Galloping Cow which was the base ship of the Extra-Solarian Research Institute expedition to this star-cluster—McRae cut off.

1947 April, Murray Leinster, “Skit-Tree Planet”, in Thrilling Wonder Stories, volume 30, number 1, page 42:

(chiefly science fiction) Of or relating to the Solar System.

The Solarian one-man ships were even smaller than the Nigrian one-man ships, and some of these did a tremendous amount of damage.

1930 Fall, John Wood Campbell, “The Black Star Passes”, in Amazing Stories Quarterly, volume 3, number 4, page 521:

(chiefly science fiction) Of or relating to the inhabitants of the Solar system.


Solarian

It will be proved that a Solarian, supposing him to have a stature equal to our own, would do as much work as seven of our cultivators; and yet the Solarians are the happiest of beings; their lot is the highest degree of happiness to which we can aspire until the epoch when there shall exist stars of a more exalted rank, that are not yet to be found in our young universe.

1851, Charles Fourier, The Passions of the Human Soul, page 225:

"There has been another dive since our meeting, Jacob, and on that dive, we are told, only the first and more prosaic species of Solarian was observed. Not the second variety which has caused Dr. Kepler so much concern." Jacob was still confused by the hurried explanations Kepler had given of the two types of Sun-creatures so far observed.

(science fiction) An inhabitant of the Sun.

The small ships of the Nigrians were beginning to take a terrific toll in the thin ranks of the Solarians. The coming of the Rocket Squad had been welcomed indeed!

Is it true that all Terrans, and other Solarians are frightfully rich, and go simply everywhere, and do as they please, and that almost nobody works?

1956 August, Charles Stearns, “The Golden Ones”, in Science Fiction Quarterly, volume 4, number 4, page 30:

(chiefly science fiction) An inhabitant of any part of the solar system of the Sun.


earthling

VVe (of all earthlings) are Gods vtmoſt ſubiects, the laſt (in a manner) that he bought to his obedience: ſhal we then forgette that vvee are any ſubiects of hys, becauſe (as amongſt his Angels) he is not viſibly conuerſant amongſt vs?

1593, Tho[mas] Nashe, Christs Teares Over Ierusalem. […], London: […] Iames Roberts, and are to be solde by Andrewe Wise, […], →OCLC, folio 60, verso:

Alternative letter-case form of Earthling


Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

en-proper noun

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (plural Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers)

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers (plural)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.wav

In the yards of the houses, the pink flamingos were eclipsed by huge plastic Santa Clauses and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers, their red noses tinting the shadows on the snow rose red, and on the roof ridges of every other house, Santa Claus and his sleigh had landed weeks earlier.

1989, Susan Fromberg Schaeffer, Buffalo Afternoon, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN, page 513:

The only buildings on the street across from the Yellow Panda were an abandoned warehouse and a lonely souvenir stand, also closed until tourist season, its carved Smokey the Bears and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers looking like lost Christmas decorations in the rain.

1997, Roger L[ichtenberg] Simon, The Lost Coast, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 194:

Window cling-ons are the same kind you see at Christmas time, with cute Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers and Frosty the Snow Mans on them.

2003, Tiffany Lambert, Restaurant Promotion and Publicity: For Just a Few Dollars a Day, Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc., →ISBN, page 98:

Light posts, storefronts and other businesses were lined with garlands of silver, gold, green and red; as well as the occasional Santa Claus and more than a few Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers.

2008, William Pepper, In the St. Nick of Time, Carnival of Glee Creations, →ISBN, page 10:

These days, you see more of those giant inflatable Frosty the Snowmen and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers.

2014, Greg Laurie, Red: The Color of Christmas, 15 Favorite Christmas Messages, Allen David Books, →ISBN, page 307:

Good job you don’t have kids, mate. You’d go mad this time of year with all the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeers going on.

2019, Alison Roberts, Single Dad in Her Stocking, Harlequin, →ISBN:

A legendary reindeer with a nose that glows red, the subject of a comic Christmas song; often added among Santa Claus's reindeer as the leading one.

ルドルフ赤鼻のトナカイ

ルドルフあかはなのトナカイ


Epcot

Acronym of Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow


wonderland

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-wonderland.wav

Where other trav'lers, fraught with terror, roam, Lo! Bruce in Wonder-land is quite at home.

1790 J. Wolcot Compl. Epist. to Bruce 332, in Wks. (1812) II. 368

It's a geological wonderland, with great exposures of colorful and varied sedimentary rocks.

2012, Chinle Miller, In Mesozoic Lands: The Mesozoic Geology of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Kindle edition:

An imaginary or real place full of wonder or marvels.

بلاد العجائب

Imaginary or real place full of wonder or marvels


cryokinesis

(fantasy, science fiction) The psychic ability to control and create ice and cold temperatures.


Jedi Master

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Jedi Master.wav

The highest of orders in the Jedi Order of the Star Wars universe, similar to a bishop.

(humorous) Respectful term of address for an expert in a particular field.


aerokinesis

(fantasy, science fiction) A telekinetic ability to control the movement of air.


repeater

(ufology) A person who regularly sees unexplained sightings of paranormal phenomena.

avvistatore

a person who regularly sees unexplained sightings of paranormal phenomena


scry

en-verb

scry (third-person singular simple present scries, present participle scrying, simple past and past participle scried)

scries (present singular third-person)
scrying (participle present)
scried (participle past)
scried (past)

From Middle English scrien, scryen, a shortened form of Middle English ascrien, from Old French escrier (“to cry out”). Influenced by Middle English descrien (“to descry”).

Scrying spells can simply toggle the state of hidden objects to the revealed state, […]

2014 April 22, Jeff Howard, Game Magic: A Designer's Guide to Magic Systems in Theory and Practice, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 149:

[…] with the loss of Mekha, the shields and wardings on the temple had weakened. That meant Alonnen could now scry inside directly, albeit with a fuzzy view and no real hope of clear sound. On hearing that, Guardian-apprentice Pelai had suggested he could send in a whole series of clever, Mendhite-style scrying nodes.

2014 May 6, Jean Johnson, The Guild, Penguin, →ISBN, page 239:

[…] to get the kid's family back, they needed a plan. “You three keep an eye out. I'm going to scry inside that house.” “You sure that's a good idea?” Naleni asked. “If he's actually a string mage, no. He might sense [it].”

2020 January 26, Stephanie Flint, The Restless Sands of Neel, Infinitas Publishing, page 66:

He glanced at the silver bowl on the table near the window. She had explained its purpose, how it was used to scry what was and what might be. He feared her device more than his for what was more frightening than an uncertain future? Her gaze followed his. She squeezed his hand and looked deeply into his eyes.

2023 October 31, Garrett Boatman, The Clocks of Midnight, Crossroad Press:

(more broadly, fantasy, video games) To use magical means to see or look into (something that is happening outside one's sight, e.g. inside a building or far away, or in the distant past, or future, etc).


dullsville

en-noun

dullsville (usually uncountable, plural dullsvilles)

From dull + -s- + -ville, evoking a fictional town.

With his monotonous routine, he lives in dullsville.

Before we began our weekend shapeup, the car looked like this: scratches and dents, broken trim, and a finish that was strictly dullsville.

A state or condition of boredom or disinterest.


polymorph

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-polymorph.wav

(transitive, fiction) The transformation of an item or creature into something different by magic.


polymorph

en-verb

polymorph (third-person singular simple present polymorphs, present participle polymorphing, simple past and past participle polymorphed)

polymorphs (present singular third-person)
polymorphing (participle present)
polymorphed (participle past)
polymorphed (past)

I got hemmed in by the werewolf again and, in desperation, tried an experimental new wand on it; and polymorphed it into a black pudding.

1999, Robin Johnson, “My gnomish healer has been having a rough time of it”, in rec.games.roguelike.nethack (Usenet):

(fiction, transitive, intransitive) To transform into something different by magic.


genki

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-genki.wav

Borrowed from Japanese げんき (“energetic, peppy”).

bor+

(anime and manga) A playful, hyperactive girl.


genki

en-adj

genki (comparative more genki, superlative most genki)

more genki (comparative)
most genki (superlative)

Akira, the genki red head, is accosted by Kyouko, a predatory blond girl in her high school.

2009 July 7, Dave Baranyi, “Aoi Hana - Blue Flowers for a Blue Girl”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet):

(anime and manga, typically of a girl) Playful and hyperactive.


adrenochrome

en-noun

adrenochrome (countable and uncountable, plural adrenochromes)

“[…]He's one of these Satanism freaks. He offered me human blood—said it would make me higher than I'd ever been in my life,” he laughed. “I thought he was kidding, so I told him I'd just as soon have an ounce or so of pure adrenochrome—or maybe just a fresh adrenalin gland to chew on.”

1971, Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, New York: Popular Library, →ISBN, page 132:

It also revives old slurs, but instead of openly accusing Jews of drinking the blood of gentile children, various euphemisms are employed: “Coastal elites,” “Hollywood,” and “George Soros” are now said to be harvesting a chemical called adrenochrome to prolong their life spans.

2020 September 30, Helen Lewis, “The Joke’s on Us”, in The Atlantic:

(fiction) A fictional drug obtained from human adrenal glands.


pessimist

From French pessimiste, from Latin pessimus (“worst”) + -ist.

I will not marry a pessimist, a born loser, a fellow who has no fight in him.

1940 September 29, “Letters Reveal Ordeals in France”, in The New York Times, page 12:

We are becoming as a nation, as a world, indeed, atom-conscious. Many of us are already afflicted with atomphobia, though so far it has manifested itself only in a mirage of autoaeromotive discs and a war of words between chronic optimists and empirical pessimists concerning civilization’s probable future.

1947 September 27, Richard R. Werry, “An American Beginning for International Education”, in School and Society, volume 66, number 1709, Lancaster, Pa.: The Society for the Advancement of Education, Inc., page 238:

Someone who habitually expects the worst outcome; one who looks on the dark side of things.

مُتَشَائِم

someone who habitually expects the worst outcome


psionic

He had honestly tried to understand the commander, but they came from different worlds. Although they could talk easily enough, with the tiny psionic translators they wore like hearing aids. Bowman’s hawknosed, black-pigmented face seemed as forbiddingly foreign as his life was strange.

1951, Jack Williamson, James Henry Schmitz, Astounding Science Fiction 1951-03: Volume 47, Issue 1, Penny Publications, page 130:


Cthulhu

Invented in 1926 by H.P. Lovecraft for his short story The Call of Cthulhu. Possibly based on chthonic (“dwelling under the earth”).

Then, bolder than the storied Cyclops, great Cthulhu slid greasily into the water and began to pursue with vast wave-raising strokes of cosmic potency.

1928, H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu:

A gigantic fictional humanoid alien god being described with a head resembling an octopus and dragon wings and claws, around whom an insane cult developed.


plot bunny

From the metaphorical image of the writer's brain producing ideas with the abundance and speed with which rabbits are fabled to breed.

"Alternatively," she [T.M. Taylor] says, "the plot bunnies may be going somewhere you don't want to go, like when the plot calls for the death of a favorite character"

2003, Jenna Glatzer, Outwitting Writer's Block: And Other Problems of the Pen, →ISBN, page 99:

(chiefly fandom slang) An idea for a story, usually referring to an author having more ideas than they can use.


timestream

By killing his great-grandfather, the time traveller disrupted the timestream.

The slightest excess of effort might upset the balance at any point of the time stream, sending them backward into the past or forward into the future independently of my will.

[1931 December, Eric Temple Bell, “The Time Stream”, in Wonder Stories:

The timestream is littered with these blank areas.

Two different timestreams running parallel but at different speeds. Amy, you're in a faster timestream.

2011, Tom MacRae, “The Girl Who Waited”, in Nick Hurran, director, Doctor Who, season 6, episode 10, spoken by The Doctor (Matt Smith):

(science fiction, mythology) A metaphorical conception of time as a stream, or flowing body of water.


battle axe

Another battle-ax, in the same collection.

1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page x:

An ancient military weapon, an axe designed for combat, including (in heraldry) when borne on arms as a mark of prowess.


terrene

en-adj

terrene (comparative more terrene, superlative most terrene)

more terrene (comparative)
most terrene (superlative)

From Middle English terrene, from Anglo-Norman terriene, feminine of terrien, from Latin terrēnus, from terra (“earth”).

(science fiction) Made of matter (as opposed to antimatter).


Star Trek

We all went into the National Space Society reception, which they'd been looking forward to, since some of the cast of Star Trek had been invited.

1994, Dan Quayle, Standing Firm: A Vice-Presidential Memoir, 1st edition, HarperCollins, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 253:

A popular sci-fi media franchise set in the future, primarily focusing on the adventures of the personnel of a space navy of an interstellar political federation of which Earth is a charter member.


Star Trek

Star Trek (comparative more Star Trek, superlative most Star Trek)

more Star Trek (comparative)
most Star Trek (superlative)

Sounds very Star Trek, but Virtual Reality technology exists right now.

1992, Faith Popcorn, The Popcorn Report: Faith Popcorn on the Future of Your Company, Your World, Your Life, New York: Doubleday, →ISBN, →OL, page 110:

'This is very Star Trek,' Bryan pipes up as he examines the sketches of the space suits.

2002, Eddie Rowley, Westlife on Tour, Ebury, published 2011, →ISBN, →OL:

Older vampires learned how to dissemble and reassemble their bodies in a way that was very Star Trek.

2007 July 3, Michele Bardsley, Don't Talk Back to Your Vampire, Signet Eclipse, →ISBN, →OL, page 121:

Such portfolios lie on the so-called efficient frontier, which sounds very Star Trek, and is shown in Exhibit 12.2.

2008 August 4, David M. Darst, The Little Book that Saves Your Assets: What the Rich Continue to Do to Stay Wealthy in Up and Down Markets, Hoboken: Wiley, →ISBN, →OL, page 154:

The next century will be more Star Trek than anyone could have imagined. All the untapped channels and stations or frequencies (apps you can download) in the brain will become the new final frontier to explore.

2012 August 29, D. Crawford, Nirvana in the Garden of Eden: The Quantum Leap and Evolution of 2012, Bloomington: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, →OL, page 33:

Futuristic, particularly with respect to things similar in appearance or effect to technology in the Star Trek franchise.


mech

en-noun

mech (countable and uncountable, plural mechs)

(science fiction) A large piloted combat robot.

But I reprogrammed the recognition codes, and they won't treat him as Roubor Transic, nor will they obey any order he gives them. He's Mr. X to the mechs, a casual human to be taken care of just as well as possible, but never, never released.

1999, Analog Science Fiction & Fact - Volume 119, page 55:

He particularly liked the box full of "companions," small, hand-held mechs with advanced AI functions, programmed as individual advice and information systems.

2001, Robert I. Katz, Edward Maret: A Novel of the Future, page 100:

She grew up in Lower Manhattan, suffering the impeccably programmed attentions of the nanny mechs that did the work her mother and father couldn't be bothered with.

2006, Lou Anders, Futureshocks, page 75:

After a round of hugs and kisses, they headed to the lounge where Genie met them at the door and escorted them to the new VIP section followed by a mech that took their drink orders.

2019, Ron S. Nolan, Met Chron New-Humans:


archrival

The New York Yankees are playing their archrival the Boston Red Sox tonight.


undine

From German Undine, from New Latin undīna, from Latin unda (“wave”).


causality

causality (countable and uncountable, plural causalities)

[kʰɒːˈz̥æl.ɪ.tɪ]

From Latin as if *causalitas, from causalis (“causal”), from causa (“cause”). By surface analysis, causal + -ity = cause + -ality.

The agency of a cause; the action or power of a cause, in producing its effect.

But how do transformations like the evolution of language take place? A scientist looks for a cause inside time; a mystic knows that causality is essentially a process that is outside time-space.

1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 94:

But some discussion of the complex relationship between “allohistory” and sf is appropriate here, as the genres overlap in certain ways. Classical allohistory— such as Trevelyan's "What if Napoleon had won the Battle of Waterloo?" and Churchill's "If Lee had not won the Battle of Gettysburg" —is a rigorously consistent thought-experiment in historical causality.

2011 February 1, Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr., The Seven Beauties of Science Fiction, Wesleyan University Press, →ISBN, pages 102–103:

The relationship between something that happens or exists and the thing that causes it; the cause and consequence relationship.


loyalist

Most estimates place one-third of Americans as loyalist, one-third on the fence, to be swayed by whomever was winning, and one-third rebel.

1999, Harry M. Ward, The War for Independence and the Transformation of American Society, Psychology Press, →ISBN, page 35:

Cobble Hill’s “first hipster bar” sports a “funky living room-ish setting” with “interesting” artwork on the walls and a “low-key” vibe in the air; a “cool” back garden and occasional “dorktastic trivia” contests lead loyalists to label it “one of the best on Atlantic” Avenue.

2008, Curt Gathje, editor, New York City Nightlife 2008/09, New York, N.Y.: Zagat Survey, →ISBN, page 122:

In this sense, a new loyalist aesthetic can also be perceived in simplistic works such as anticommunist literature and melancholic works such as nostalgic fiction and prose.

2013, Shu-mei Shih, Sinophone Studies: A Critical Reader, Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 101:

A person who is loyal to a cause, generally used as a political affiliation.


centauroid

(fantasy, science fiction) A creature resembling a centaur.


saurian

From Sauria (suborder of lizards) + -an (suffix forming adjectives), under influence from earlier French saurien.

compound

After dinner we all went on deck and watched the unfamiliar scenes of a Capronian night--that is, all but von Schoenvorts. There was less to see than to hear. From the great inland lake behind us came the hissing and the screaming of countless saurians. Above us we heard the flap of giant wings, while from the shore rose the multitudinous voices of a tropical jungle--of a warm, damp atmosphere such as must have enveloped the entire earth during the Palezoic and Mesozoic eras.

1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., →OCLC; republished as chapter VI, in Hugo Gernsback, editor, Amazing Stories, (please specify |part=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Experimenter Publishing, 1927, →OCLC:

Good evening, fellow saurians, and welcome once again to the Tri-Sports Arena! I'm your host, Raz Charkov...

1986, Kevin Eastman & al., Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. I, No. 6, page 15

(popularly, especially science fiction) Any large reptilian animal, including crocodiles and reptilian aliens.


Lovecraftian

en-adj

Lovecraftian (comparative more Lovecraftian, superlative most Lovecraftian)

more Lovecraftian (comparative)
most Lovecraftian (superlative)

From Lovecraft + -ian, in reference to H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937), an American author of fantasy, horror, and science fiction, noted for combining these three genres within single narratives.

The tip of the thing was equipped with long whiplike appendages that writhed around a loose, drooling, toothless mouth large enough to swallow a man whole...Perhaps this was the only thing that the escaping Lovecraftian entity had thus far been able to extrude between the opening Gates — this one finger.

1984, Dean R. Koontz, Darkfall, page 362:

Frighteningly monstrous and otherworldly, sometimes with terrifyingly unnatural anatomy.


scientifiction

Blend of scientific + fiction. Coined by Hugo Gernsback in 1916.

I am supposed to report Münchhaussen's^([sic]) doings; am supposed to be writing fiction, scientifiction, to be correct.

1916 January, Hugo Gernsback, Electrical Experimenter, page 474:

1926, Hugo Gernsback, Amazing Stories, "A New Sort of Magazine"
There is the usual fiction magazine, the love story and the sex-appeal type of magazine, the adventure type, and so on, but a magazine of "Scientifiction" is a pioneer in its field in America. By "scientifiction" I mean the Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and Edgar Allan Poe type of story—a charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision.

Lewis's novels are the scientifiction of a philosopher.

1949, Chad Walsh, C. S. Lewis: Apostle to the Skeptics:


cloaking device

en-noun

cloaking device (plural cloaking devices)

1968. Coined by D. C. Fontana in the script for the Star Trek episode The Enterprise Incident.

Spock: "I believe the Romulans have developed a cloaking device which renders our tracking sensors useless."

1968, The Enterprise Incident (Star Trek), season 3, episode 2, Dorothy Catherine Fontana (actor):

Captain Needa: "They can't have disappeared. No ship that small has a cloaking device."

1980, The Empire Strikes Back, Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, and George Lucas (actors):

I put out my hand and touched the warm surface of the camouflaged Rolls-Royce. I was going to ask Mycroft if I could have the cloaking device fitted to my Speedster but I was too late; enthused by my interest he had trotted off to a large roll-top bureau and was beckoning me over excitedly.

(science fiction) A device which renders a person or thing invisible.


caveman

From cave + man, based on the supposition that early humans dwelt in caves.

The political cartoon showed the politician as a caveman, clubbing the budget depicted as a mammoth.

CAVEMAN DIET
The creators of this nutrition plan believe that cavemen and cavewomen were lean and healthy because of the all-natural foods they ate.

2006, Harley Pasternak, The 5 Factor Diet, page 15:

And who could forget those ads that featured sophisticated cavemen who were insulted—in a parody on political correctness—by “insensitive” offenders who implied that some action was “so easy, a caveman could do it.”

2010, Terence A. Shimp, Advertising, Promotion, and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications, 8th edition, Cengage Learning, page 154:

For, in essence, the caveman concept implies the abhorrent—undignified human bestiality and a disquieting association with apelike ancestors. Cavemen have represented Darwin′s repugnant evolutionary ideals and even suggest civilisation′s tenuousness.

2010, Allen A. Debus, Prehistoric Monsters: The Real and Imagined Creatures of the Past That We Love to Fear, page 87:

An early human or closely related species, popularly held to reside in caves.


pyromancy

one type of which involves casting salt into a fire

thin smoke that rose straight up was a good omen

one type of which involves heating to produce cracks

this was done by heating pits carved into them

The magical power of conjuring or controlling fire.


hocus-pocus

/ˌhəʊkəs ˈpəʊkəs/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-hocus-pocus.wav

Archbishop of Canterbury
Jesus
John Tillotson
Robert Ibbitson

The interjection and noun are derived from made-up pseudo-Latin magical incantations used by conjurers (formerly called “jugglers”) such as “hocus pocus, tontus talontus, vade celeriter jubeo” (with a particular 17th-century conjurer adopting Hocus Pocus as his name) and “hax pax max Deus adimax”. The suggestion that the term is a corruption of words from the Roman Catholic liturgy of the Eucharist, “hoc est enim corpus meum” (“this is my [i.e., Jesus’s] body”), was made in a sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Tillotson (1630–1694), but is not generally accepted.
The verb is derived from the noun.

nb...

That is, the Lord doth Avenge the Blood of the Innocent upon the Inhabitants of the Earth: This Book is Profitable to bee Read by All Judges of Assizes, before They Passe the Sentence of Condemnation against Poor People, who are Accused for Witchcraft; it is also Profitable for All Sorts of People to Read who Desire Knowledge.

dwelling in Simithfield neer Hosier Lane End

Containing Fifty-four Sermons and Discourses, on Several Occasions. Together with the Rule of Faith. Being All that were Published by His Grace Himself, and Now Collected into One Volume. To which is Added, an Alphabetical Table of the Principal Matters.

A phrase used (by a stage magician, etc.) as a magical incantation to bring about some change: abracadabra, hey presto.


onocentaur

/ɒnəˈsɛntɔː/

Late Latin onocentaurus, from Ancient Greek ὀνοκένταυρος (onokéntauros, from ὄνος (ónos, “ass”) + κένταυρος (kéntauros, “centaur”)).

uder

ὀνοκένταυρος

A centaur with the body of an ass, instead of a prototypical horse.


Brobdingnag

[…] if this Treatiſe ſhould happen to be tranſlated into the language of Brobdingnag (which is the general name of that Kingdom) and tranſmitted thither, the King and his People would have reaſon to complain that I had done them an Injury by a falſe and diminutive Repreſentation.

1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Country Described. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part II (A Voyage to Brobdingnag), page [225]:

The satire takes a new twist when, on his second voyage, Gulliver visits Brobdingnag, whose inhabitants tower above him. The boot is now on the other foot, and it is Gulliver who is exposed as diminutive of stature and understanding alike. The Brobdingnagians furthermore excite Swift's disgust at the flesh. Their very grossness exaggerates all the minute flaws and hideousness normally concealed from the eye by the limitations of human vision.

2003, Roy Porter, Flesh in the Age of Reason, Ch.9, at p.151

A fictional country inhabited by giants, which appears in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.


fantasy land

en-noun

fantasy land (countable and uncountable, plural fantasy lands)

In the movie Back to School, an economics professor suggests building a factory in a place where no political corruption must be calculated into the costs; the protagonist replies "How about fantasy land?"

I’d toil away at my job, which I hated with a passion. But I’d dream, too. No, no, they couldn’t take away my dreams. In my fantasy world, I didn’t have it that bad. In fact, I had a pretty cool beach house and loads of money and good friends. Real life wasn’t that great, but living in fantasy land was terrific. But soon, fantasy land was bombed by reality and I found myself living in a painful world.

2009, Romy Miller, “Everything You Know Might Quite Possibly Be Wrong”, in How to Be Wanted: Use the Law of Attraction to Date the Man You Most Desire and Live the Life You Deserve, The Book Factory, →ISBN, page 38:

An ideal place that does not exist in reality.


Gotham

Salmagundi (periodical)
Washington Irving

When originally used in England, the meaning of the place name Gotham was literally “homestead where goats are kept”, from Old English gāt (“goat”) + hām (“home”).
As nickname for New York City, first used 1807 by Washington Irving in his Salmagundi Papers.

Naturally sweetened desserts—delicious ones—have several hiding places in Gotham, and the Upper East Side's Candle Café is among the best.

2010, Jared Koch, Alex Van Buren, Clean Plates Manhattan 2011 […] , page 99:


cacodemon

From Ancient Greek κακοδαίμων (kakodaímōn, “ill-starred”, from κακός (kakós, “bad”) + δαίμων (daímōn, “genius, divinity”)).

uder

The twelfth astrological House, from which only evil prognostics are alleged to proceed.


mpreg

(fandom slang) Abbreviation of male pregnancy.


yaoi

en-noun

yaoi (countable and uncountable, plural yaoi or yaois)

From Japanese やおい (yaoi), a blend of 山(やま)無(な)し (yama nashi, “no climax”) + 落(お)ち無(な)し (ochi nashi, “no point”) + 意味(いみ)無(な)し (imi nashi, “no meaning”), originally mocking those who criticised early yaoi works for being too focused on sex scenes instead of storylines.

ja-blend

(pornography, anime, manga) A form of hentai involving two or more males in a gay relationship.

ইয়াওই

(anime, manga) A narrative or visual work featuring a romance or sexual relationship between two or more men.


FTL

en-noun

FTL (countable and uncountable, plural FTLs)

They had been slowly trailing the freighter for over a week, waiting for the ship to drop out of FTL.

2016, A.K. Brown, Jumpstart (Champagne Universe Series: Book 1), page 19:

(science fiction) Initialism of faster-than-light.


cartoon character

cartoon character (plural cartoon characters)

Many early cartoon characters were animals.


henchman

From Middle English henxman (“page, attendant”), from Old English *hengstmann, *hengestmann (“groom”, literally “horseman”), from hengst, hengest (“stallion, horse, steed, gelding”) (from Proto-Germanic *hangistaz (“stallion”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱanḱest-, *kankest- (“horse”)) + mann (“man”). Cognate with archaic German Hengstmann (“a groom”), Icelandic hestamaður (“horseman, groom”).

cog

The glib sophistries of the special pleader and the verdant gullibility of the public; the ridiculous, now happily fast disappearing partisan bias of the voter and the venal instincts of the political henchman; the lack of proper moral stamina in much of our public press, and the tardiness of practical public appreciation where journals are true to the people's interests the fear of the vengeance;

1906, W. G. Joerns, “The Railroad Hold-up”, in Watson's Magazine, volume 5, page 397:

It is madness to commence war against the audacious despots under any leader like Lafayette, the traitor and venal henchman of despotism, against whom the cries of the patriots murdered on July 17 call to Heaven.

1916, The History of Nations - Volume 10, page 165:

the great task confronting humankind today in effecting government that is worth its powder and shot is not regularity of attendance at the polls so much as in the intelligent analysis of the true leader from the henchman seeking selfish profit from the filling of an office.

1935, William Dudley Pelley, Nations-in-law: an Unconventional Analysis Cleaning the Barnacles from the Ship of State:

In appreciation for his service of railroading Frank, the power-brokering Watson sent his venal henchman Dorsey to the U.S. Congress for two terms .

1998, Jay Robert Nash, Terrorism in the 20th Century, page 78:

The practice of doubling in this production further emphasizes the ascendancy of corporeal decay and violence in the tetralogy, for, in addition to Cade, Oliver Cotton also appears as the seductive cuckold-maker Suffolk and, in the final of the three installments of The Plantagenets, as Richard of Gloucester's venal and Machiavellian henchman, the Duke of Buckingham .

2005, Christian Riegel, Response to Death: The Literary Work of Mourning, page 53:

A person who supports a political figure chiefly out of selfish interests.

aanhanger

a person who supports a political figure chiefly out of selfish interests


fire and brimstone

Calque of Biblical Hebrew גׇּפְרִ֣ית וָאֵ֑שׁ (gofrit va’esh) and Ancient Greek πυρὸς καὶ θείου (puròs kaì theíou), appearing in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.

calque

גׇּפְרִ֣ית וָאֵ֑שׁ

πυρὸς καὶ θείου

And the third Angel followed them, ſaying with a lowd voice, If any man worship the beaſt and his image, and receiue his marke in his forehead, or in his hand, / The ſame ſhall drinke of the wine of the wrath of God, which is powred out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and hee ſhall be tormented with fire and brimſtone, in the preſence of the holy Angels, and in the preſence of the Lambe:

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 14:9–10:


hellfire

en-noun

hellfire (countable and uncountable, plural hellfires)

/ˈhɛlˌfaɪəɹ/

From Middle English helle fire, helever, from Old English hellefȳr, equivalent to hell + fire. Cognate with West Frisian helfjoer (“hellfire”), Dutch hellevuur (“hellfire”), German Höllenfeuer (“hellfire”).


redshirt

/ˈɹɛd.ʃəː(ɹ)t/

Redshirt (college sports)
Star Trek: The Original Series
Starfleet
redshirt (stock character)

Calque of Italian camicia rossa, equivalent to red + shirt. In later senses with reference to the uniforms or outfits worn by such people. The fandom slang sense emerged from the tendency of red-uninformed Starfleet officers to die in episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series.

Loyal regiments from Naples and other provinces of the mainland fought valiantly and were victorious un several skirmishes against the redshirts near Capua.

2011, David Gilmour, The Pursuit of Italy, Penguin, published 2012, page 196:

(now historical) A supporter of the Italian nationalist leader Giuseppe Garibaldi, especially a member of his thousand-man army which conquered Sicily.

(US, sports) A college athlete who spends a year not participating in official athletic activities, but does not lose his or her eligibility to participate in following years.

Sensing danger, Captain Kirk decided to beam down to the surface with Spock, McCoy, and a couple of redshirts.

I am not a goddamn redshirt! I have a purpose!

2017, 42m, in 12 Monkeys, season 3, episode 6:

(fiction, science fiction, fandom slang) An unimportant character introduced only to be killed in order to underscore the peril to the important characters; an expendable character.

(US, military) A person responsible for loading and unloading weapons, artillery, and equipment from aircraft.

As armoured personnel carriers rumbled on to Bangkok's deserted streets, thousands of troops fanned out in a cordon across the city, surrounding the redshirts' fortified protest camp.

2010 May 19, Ben Doherty, “Thai soldiers arrest protest leaders in bloody 'final crackdown'”, in The Guardian:

Alternative form of Red Shirt (“member of the UDD”).


redshirt

en-verb

redshirt (third-person singular simple present redshirts, present participle redshirting, simple past and past participle redshirted)

redshirts (present singular third-person)
redshirting (participle present)
redshirted (participle past)
redshirted (past)

/ˈɹɛd.ʃəː(ɹ)t/

Being asked whether I was going to be redshirted had some status associated with it.

2004, George R. Mills -, A View from the Bench, →ISBN:

The university decided to redshirt the freshman linebacker to give him an extra year to build up his bulk.

(US, collegiate sports) To place an athlete in a status wherein the athlete will spend a year not participating in official athletic activities, but will not lose his or her eligibility to participate in following years.

Hillman, who had come to Indiana without a scholarship (he now had one) from a Los Angeles suburb, wanted to redshirt so that he would have two years of eligibility left after Alford graduated. Smith didn't want to redshirt, he wanted to play.

2012 -, John Feinstein, Season on the Brink, →ISBN, page 62:

(US, collegiate sports) To take on a status wherein one will spend a year not participating in official athletic activities.


chronon

(physics) A hypothetical quantum or particle of time.


agathodaemon

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀγαθοδαίμων (agathodaímōn).

bor

A benevolent spirit, as opposed to a cacodemon (an evil daemon).


MST

/ˌɛm ˌɛs ˈtiː/

From the sci-fi comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, commonly known as MST3K, which features an audience of fictional characters (a man stranded in space and his robot companions) riffing real B movies.

The commentary in the MSTs may have been nasty and uncalled for; but it was not plagiarism.

1999 March 10, Teddi Litman, “Re: THE ACID DESK: Vol 1, No 9 - Plagarism Proof”, in alt.tv.x-files.creative (Usenet):

The only MSTs I've seen (on alt.drwho.creative) have been of perfectly good fan fiction, deliberately cut about to make it look silly (truncating a character's words in the middle to create an^([sic]) non-existent innuendo, for example) - and those were *with* the authors' permission.

2003 April 8, Igenlode W., “Re: Fan fics?”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

Goodbye Catherine! Come back soon! We'll all miss your unique style of MSTs! I know i will!! ;_;

2003 June 18, Craig McMartin, “Re: Hasta!”, in alt.fan.harry-potter (Usenet):

(fandom slang) A parody fanfic created in this manner.


moe

From Japanese 萌え (moe, “budding, sprouting”), imperfective or continuative form of 萌える (moeru, “to burst into bud, to sprout”).

Someone who is pretty or beautiful isn't moe by definition. Moe characters don't always have to be younger girls, but it certainly helps! In fact, moe characters don't even have to be female! As long as they make you feel like you want to hug and protect them, that's enough!

2015 December 9, Jankenpopp, “Top 15 kawaii and moe anime girls”, in My Anime List:

Despite its moe roots and preference for hijinks, Bocchi The Rock is a loving celebration of rock music and the joys of being in a band.

2023 September 5, Trent Murray, “10 Best Anime Like Bocchi The Rock”, in Dual Shockers, Carole and Tuesday:

(fandom slang) Strong interest in, and especially fetishistic attraction towards, fictional characters in anime, manga, video games, and/or similar media.

萌

strong interest or attraction towards fictional character


moe

en-adj

moe (comparative more moe or moe-er, superlative most moe or moe-est)

more moe (comparative)
moe-er (comparative)
most moe (superlative)
moe-est (superlative)

(fandom slang) Cute, adorable. (of fictional characters in anime, manga, video games, and/or similar media)


femme fatale

en-noun

femme fatale (plural femmes fatales or femme fatales)

femmes fatales (plural)
femme fatales (plural)

Unadapted borrowing from French femme fatale (literally “deadly woman”).

ubor

Cause everybody knows (She's a femme fatale) / The things she does to please (She's a femme fatale)

1967, Lou Reed (lyrics and music), “Femme Fatale”, in The Velvet Underground & Nico, performed by The Velvet Underground:

An attractive and seductive but ultimately dangerous woman.


mara

Maras have a white patch of fur on the rump that they flash when running, an adaptation they share with several species of deer and antelopes.

1999, Michael A. Mares, editor, Encyclopedia of Deserts, Mara, page 349:

Although only Dolichotis, the Patagonian mara, is strongly cursorial, all caviids have certain features typical of cursorial mammals[…].

2011, Terry A. Vaughan, James M. Ryan, Nicholas J. Czaplewski, Mammalogy, 5th edition, page 228:

Maras (Dolichotis patagonum) are cursorial and prefer open areas with low vegetation for breeding and more barren sites for construction of communal dens (Taber and Macdonald 1992; Baldi 2007).

2013, R. L. Honeycutt, “Chapter 3: Phylogenetics of Caviomorph Rodents and Genetic Perspectives on the Evolution of Sociality and Mating Systems in the Caviidae”, in José Roberto Moreira, Katia Maria P.M.B. Ferraz, Emilio A. Herrera, David W. Macdonald, editors, Capybara: Biology, Use and Conservation of an Exceptional Neotropical Species, page 70:

Any caviid rodent of genus Dolichotis, common in the Patagonian steppes of Argentina.


dire wolf

(fantasy) Synonym of warg (“type of wolf”)


cloud-cuckoo-land

Calque of Ancient Greek Νεφελοκοκκυγία (Nephelokokkugía), from Aristophanes.

cal

Νεφελοκοκκυγία

That glabrous dome that lifts itself so grand, / There in the marish, is the omphalos, / The navel, umbo, middle, central boss / Of the unique, sole, true Cloud-Cuckoo Land.

1916, Aldous Huxley, “The Walk”, in The Burning Wheel:

An imaginary place where silly or unrealistic people metaphorically reside.

imaginary place with unrealistic or silly people

Mrakoptakohrad (Aristophanes, transl. Jiří Žáček 1986)

Pilvikukkula (Aristophanes, transl. Kaarlo Hirvonen 1972)


pooka

From Old Irish púca (“goblin, sprite”), perhaps from a (nearly) identical Old Irish form, ultimately from Old English pūca (“demon”). Doublet of bucca and puck.

The pooka had befriended the kindly old man.

This is certain; Moggy was by no means so great a fool as Betty in respect of hobgoblins, witches, banshees, pookas, and the world of spirits in general. She eat heartily, and slept soundly, and as yet had never seen the devil.

1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:

The Pooka is an animal of which, partly from the darkness of the night, and partly from the darkness that he carries about with him, the precise outline, especially of the head and neck, can never be distinguished.

1833 July, “Laurie on Grand Juries”, in The Westminster Review - Volume 19, page 88:

P-O-O-K-A. Pooka. From old Celtic mythology, a fairy spirit in animal form, always very large. The pooka appears here and there, now and then, to this one and that one. A benign but mischievous creature. Very fond of rumpots, crackpots, and how are you, Mr. Wilson?

A fairy that supposedly appears in animal form, often large.


Fantasyland

en-noun

Fantasyland (countable and uncountable, plural Fantasylands)

Perhaps capitalized under the influence of Walt Disney's Fantasyland theme park areas, which are noted for containing imagery relating to fairy tales.

If your dream depends a lot on luck, then you're in trouble. If it depends entirely on luck, you're living in Fantasyland. ... People who build their dream on reality take a very different approach to dreams than do people who live in Fantasyland.

2009, John C. Maxwell, Put Your Dream to the Test: 10 Questions That Will Help You See It and Seize It, page 50:

Yes, I escaped into Fantasyland. However, I could just as easily have become a serial killer, a prostitute, a child beater, or a politician.

2007, Colleen Sell, A Cup of Comfort for Writers, page 28:

On a scale diagram, with the percentage of households on the vertical axis and the percentage of aggregate income on the horizontal axis, plot the Lorenz curve for Fantasyland.

2003, Richard G. Lipsey, Christopher Ragan, Economics, page 327:

A typical Fantasyland will display - often initially by means of a prefatory MAP - a selection, sometimes very full, from a more or less fixed list of landscape ingredients..."

1999, John Clute, John Grant, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, page 341:

Maybe this Fantasyland, as the egg woman called it, would counteract all the weirdness that had been accumulating since. ... Once this Fantasyland had kicked in, he would be on autopilot: all the necessary motivation would be provided for him.

1997, Jay Gummerman, Chez Chance, page 174:

Now leave Fantasyland and go back to the days of fur traders.

1986, Elma Schemenauer, Hello Edmonton, page 15:


dreamscape

He walked between his parents as though through a dreamscape towards the grand building.


naga

Borrowed from Sanskrit नाग (nāga, “serpent, snake”). Doublet of snake.

The five-coned towers form a quincunx, and their flanks are scooped into niches in each of which has been placed a smiling buddha shaded by a nine-headed naga like a big palm fan.

1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 257:

(Indian mythology) A member of a class of semi-divine creatures, often taking the form of a very large snake and associated with water.

ᬦᬵᬕ

a semi-divine mythological creature in the form of a snake


con artist

That greedy con artist would swindle you at any cost.

He's the FBI agent antagonist in Catch Me If You Can (2002) opposite a buoyantly charming young Leonardo DiCaprio as con artist Frank Abagnale, but his character is more of a determined cat to Leo's mouse than a real foil; he's simply a prim Eisenhower-era man with a job to do.

2021 February 9, Christina Newland, “Is Tom Hanks part of a dying breed of genuine movie stars?”, in BBC:

Leavers will be attracted to that story because it spares them the discomfort of admitting that they voted for a con, and then made a prime minister of the con artist.

2021 February 23, Rafael Behr, “Brexit is a machine to generate perpetual grievance. It's doing its job perfectly”, in The Guardian:

confidence trickster
confidence trickster

A person who uses confidence tricks to defraud or swindle people after first gaining their trust with a series of confidence games; a scam operator, confidence trickster.


biokinesis

(parapsychology, science fiction) The ability, through the use of psychic power, to affect organic matter on a microscopic level, to manipulate the physiology (e.g. heart rate, breathing, nervous system or brainwaves) and voluntary motor functions of other people or living organisms, inducing processes such as accelerated healing, etc.


transdimensional

en-adj

transdimensional (comparative more transdimensional, superlative most transdimensional)

more transdimensional (comparative)
most transdimensional (superlative)

A concentrated hyperplasma of Energon, drawn via a transdimensional gateway from the endless supply of Energon that enlivened the planet Cybertron itself.

2010, Alexander Christian Irvine, Exodus: The Official History of the War for Cybertron, Titan, →ISBN, page 198:

(science fiction) Relating to a dimension other than those of the normal three-dimensional world.


nice guy

Plenty of men will treat women kindly, but Nice Guys like to think that behaving kindly earns them a gold star. It doesn't.

2016 March 12, Suzannah Weiss, “5 Signs Of Nice Guy Syndrome”, in Bustle:

(Internet slang, sarcastic, derogatory) A man who pretends to be kind and polite with the goal of attracting women, often becoming hostile and misogynistic when their advances are rebuffed; someone affected by nice guy syndrome.


psychopath

/ˈsaɪkəˌpæθ/

From German psychopathisch, from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul”) + πάθος (páthos, “suffering”).

personality disorder
personality disorder

delusions of grandeur
delusion of grandeur

A person with a personality disorder indicated by a pattern of lying, cunning, manipulating, glibness, exploiting, heedlessness, arrogance, delusions of grandeur, carelessness, low self-control, disregard for morality, lack of acceptance of responsibility, callousness, and lack of empathy and remorse. Such a person may be especially prone to violent and criminal offenses.

psikopat

person with a personality disorder characterized by a lack of empathy


gamine

gamine (comparative more gamine, superlative most gamine)

more gamine (comparative)
most gamine (superlative)

In her navy linen trousers and her, perhaps too tight, white jersey, Jennifer was determinedly gamine.

1984, Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac, Penguin, published 2016, page 54:

It’s a wildly dated-looking and derivative film, a quaint adventure in fantasised naughtiness, like Ozon’s teen prostitute fantasy Jeune et Jolie in 2013, which starred his lead actress here, Marine Vacth, in a similarly gamine role.

2017 May 25, Peter Bradshaw, “L'Amant Double review – camp-classic status beckons for François Ozon's softcore silliness”, in The Guardian:

(of a girl) Having a boyish, mischievous charm; elfish, typically with short hair.


down under

Refers to the fact that the Australian continent lies south of, colloquially thought of as 'below' or 'under', the equator.


gold digger

/ɡəʊld ˈdɪɡə(ɹ)/

Literal sense from 1830s; figurative sense (woman who seeks money in a relationship) from 1915.

If she sends her son for the money she is a gold digger, and if she sends her daughter, she is a gold digger teaching her daughter how to be a gold digger—two offenses for the price of one. Whether it is the misinterpretation of the hustle, recognizing the game, or asking for legitimate funds for child care, the black woman is often seen as a gold digger.

2009, Rajen Persaud, Why Black Men Love White Women, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 189:

(figuratively, derogatory) A person (usually female) who cultivates a personal relationship in order to attain wealth.

拜金女

person who cultivates a personal relationship in order to attain money and/or material goods, power

pisau cukur

"razor blade", alluded by its purpose of shaving a man's facial hair


vorpal

vorpal (comparative more vorpal, superlative most vorpal)

more vorpal (comparative)
most vorpal (superlative)

Coined by Lewis Carroll in the poem Jabberwocky to describe a sword, likely modeled after warp and vortex.


girl next door

Coordinate term: boy next door

She didn't want to marry the girl next door: she yearned for the big city.

Playboy's motto is: the girl next door. They look for girls that are wholesome and fresh and young and naive. They look for all of that.

1983, Teresa Carpenter, Bob Fosse, Star 80, spoken by Dorothy Stratten:

The Nippy became a national icon, symbolic of the girl next door, always approachable and proper; […]

2014, Paul Chrystal, Tea: A Very British Beverage:

A regular, typical girl, as opposed to a superstar.


sorceress

From Middle English sorceresse, from Anglo-Norman sorceresse.

The strange-looking chamber, the red glare of the charcoal, her tall form, and long black hair loose, realised the wildest dream of one of the sorceresses of old, bending over herb and drug, to form their potent spells.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Laboratory”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 328:

A female sorcerer, especially one who is elegant; compare witch.


ecumenopolis

en-noun

ecumenopolis (plural ecumenopolises or ecumenopoleis or ecumenopoli)

ecumenopolises (plural)
ecumenopoleis (plural)
ecumenopoli (plural)

From ecumene (“inhabited world”) + -polis (“city”).
From use as a common noun of Ecumenopolis, applying the concept to diverse scenarios.

suffix

(chiefly science fiction) A city spanning an entire planet or large moon.


diegetic

/ˌdaɪəˈd͡ʒɛtɪk/

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek διηγητικός (diēgētikós).

lbor

(fiction) Existing within a fictional universe (rather than as background), and able to be perceived by the characters.


Oceanian

From Oceania + -an.
(nation): This term is not used in the novel itself.

Although the proles are on the fringe both of Oceanian society and of the action, it is their values which provide the only warmth in the novel.

1993, Stephen Ingle, “Orwellian socialism today”, in George Orwell: A Political Life, Manchester, New York, N.Y.: Manchester University Press, →ISBN, page 117:

Orwell’s point was that the Oceanian government had effectively invented the idea of opposition in order to reinforce the status quo.

2009, Philip Bounds, Orwell and Marxism: The Political and Cultural Thinking of George Orwell, I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, →ISBN:

The situation for Oceania, which appears as a significant space in the narrative, can be expressed as follows: Though the Party adopts a repressive dictatorship, it never accepts decentralized management so that Oceanian people do not feel colonial.

2018, Murat Kalelioğlu, “Semiotic Analysis”, in A Literary Semiotics Approach to the Semantic Universe of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, →ISBN, section “Spatialization”, page 111:

(literary criticism) From or relating to the fictional nation of Oceania in George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).


Oceanian

In order to ensure that the Oceanians do get excited about Big Brother—displace, that is, eroticism from its natural object, another individual, to the State—the Party attempts in every way “to remove all pleasure from the sex act. . . . The only recognized purpose of marriage was to beget children for the service of the Party. Sexual intercourse was to be looked on as a slightly disgusting operation, like having an enema” (p. 57).

1986, Bernard Oldsey, Joseph Browne, editors, Critical Essays on George Orwell, G. K. Hall & Co., →ISBN, page 74:

We might suppose that Orwell’s claims about the beliefs of Oceanians are simply implausible: after all, as the little thought experiment I started with demonstrates, we cannot just make ourselves believe on command.

2018, Iskra Fileva, “Bad Faith and Make-Believe”, in Ezio Di Nucci, Stefan Storrie, editors, 1984 and Philosophy: Is Resistance Futile? (Popular Culture and Philosophy; 116), Open Court Publishing Company, →ISBN:

Accordingly, the Ministry behaves in favor of the Party by making necessary amendments and manipulations in mass media to earn the sympathy of Oceanians.

2018, Murat Kalelioğlu, “Semiotic Analysis”, in A Literary Semiotics Approach to the Semantic Universe of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, →ISBN, section “George Orwell and “Nineteen Eighty-Four””, page 59:

(literary criticism) Someone from the fictional nation of Oceania in George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949).


everyman

Perhaps from the Flemish play Elckerlijc (c. 1495) or its English translation Everyman (c. 1520).

In fiction, drama, or allegory, the archetypical ordinary individual, frequently the protagonist in a parable of some sort.


multidimensional

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-multidimensional.wav

(science fiction, New Age religion) a being that exists in more than one dimension


Popeye

→ Dutch: popeye (“short, strong man”)

desc

→ Gulf Arabic: بباي (babbāy, “animated show, cartoon, anime”)

Fictional character name coined in 1929 by cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar, presumably pop + eye.

They seem equipped to drag the building between them right down Pennsylvania Avenue, but their progress is arrested by two heroes of Popeye musculature, government men putting a check rein on willful industry.

1967, Television Magazine, volume 24, number 11, page 27:

Lenny gave him the Popeye squint as he rolled off to Frank, the other bodyguard on duty, who was standing on the other side of the stage behind the Epps camp.

Choosing and prepping yeast Working the dough: You don't need Popeye arms.

2011, Danna Korn, Connie Sarros, Gluten-Free Cooking For Dummies, page 122:

A tough cartoon sailor, full name Popeye the Sailor, characterized by bulging forearm muscles, a squinty eye, and an affinity for spinach.

The UPU faction, headed by Popeye Jackson, drew considerable numbers of members away from the Prisoners' Union when it split off in 1973, primarily taking with it the union's more radical convicts.

1994, Eric Cummins, The Rise and Fall of California's Radical Prison Movement, page 216:

"Arf, arfl" It was a Popeye expression, which he used to express pleasure or enthusiasm.

2006, Alexander Fullerton, The Gatecrashers, page 60:

FAN FAVORITE: С Popeye Jones (1988-92) Befitting his nickname, Ronald "Popeye" Jones never came up short in the effort department.

2009, ESPN, ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia, page 99:

A nickname for a person who has attributes of the cartoon character.


beholder

From Middle English behalder, be holdar, beholder, beholdere, biholdar, biholdere, byholdere; equivalent to behold + -er.

(fantasy) A fictional monster in roleplaying games, a floating orb of flesh with a large mouth and many eyes on stalks.


philter

From Middle French philtre, from Ancient Greek φίλτρον (phíltron), from φιλέω (philéō, “I love”). Doublet of philtrum.

A kind of potion, charm, or drug; especially a love potion intended to make the drinker fall in love with the giver.


philter

en-verb

philter (third-person singular simple present philters, present participle philtering, simple past and past participle philtered)

philters (present singular third-person)
philtering (participle present)
philtered (participle past)
philtered (past)

to philter a draught

To impregnate or mix with a love potion.

Government of the Tongue
Let not those that have repudiated the more inviting sins, shew themselves philtred and bewitched.

To charm to love; to excite to love or sexual desire by a potion.


Tarzan

Coined by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A name created by Burroughs for his fiction.
Means "white skin" in the apes' fictional language; possibly echoic in its phonetics of various "exotic" names (see Orientalism).

(fiction) A heroic fictional character, raised in the jungle by apes.


memory lane

The speaker took us on a trip down memory lane with his recollections of village life fifty years ago.

This is Memory Lane—lonely and drear to some, pleasant and gay to others. ... It was New Year's day in the old town, the most hallowed of holidays on Memory Lane; the day when the wharf was deserted, for everyone, great and small, walked over the Lane, many even to the very end.

1894 December, B[urton] M. Balch, “Memory Lane. A New Year’s Study.”, in Burton M. Balch, editor, Hamilton Literary Monthly, volume 29, number 3, Clinton, N.Y.: Published by the students, Hamilton College, →OCLC, page 101,102:

“How about a stroll down Memory Lane. Remember this?” He thrust a picture at me.

1954 May, Peter De Vries, chapter 3, in The Tunnel of Love, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, published July 1954, →OCLC, page 25:

My “memory lane” is splotched with recollections that have not dimmed or faded in the last seventy-five years. They stand out clear and sharp, but they are splotches just the same. They have no beginning, nor do they trail off to an ending. They are just there like ink splotches on a white wall.

1987, Eva Antonia Wilbur-Cruce, “My Earliest Recollections”, in A Beautiful, Cruel Country, Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona Press, →ISBN, page 42:

Sigrid took a bittersweet trip down memory lane when Anne opened the carton of ornaments and lifted out a crumpled tinsel star. All at once she was three years old again and her father was holding her up in his strong arms to place that same star on the very top of their Christmas tree.

1989, Margaret Maron, Corpus Christmas (A Crime Club Book), Warner Books edition, New York, N.Y.: Mysterious Press, published 2001, →ISBN, page 255:

Molly sleeps this morning as her parents, per their promise, travel down memory lane from their just-delivered leather sofa. Tim and I have memory-goaders galore, including our album of wedding photos, two separate videotapes of the marriage ceremony, and some random 35-millimeter slides one or the other of us somehow managed to squeeze off that strange and signal day exactly one year and four days ago.

1989, Larry L. Meyer, “August 16: An Irish Wedding Revisited”, in My Summer with Molly: The Journal of a Second Generation Father, Huntington Beach, Calif.: Calafia Press, →ISBN, page 146:

A more straightforwardly nostalgic use of the family album is in oral history, which has used them as a device for family reconstitution and opening up memory lanes.

1994, Raphael Samuel, “Dreamscapes”, in Theatres of Memory, volumes 1 (Past and Present in Contemporary Culture), London, New York, N.Y.: Verso Books, →ISBN, part V (Old Photographs), page 351:

I decide to take in one last trip for the day - and one very much down memory lane. Changing trains at Central, I board a Class 150 bound for Barry Island, where I have not been for 46 years.

2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 67:

(idiomatic, sometimes capitalized) An imaginary path along which one can take a nostalgic or sentimental journey through one's memories of the past.


MacGyver

MacGyver (third-person singular simple present MacGyvers, present participle MacGyvering, simple past and past participle MacGyvered)

MacGyvers (present singular third-person)
MacGyvering (participle present)
MacGyvered (participle past)
MacGyvered (past)

From the name of the eponymous character in the television program MacGyver, a secret agent with an uncanny ability to construct weapons from seemingly useless bits of junk.

Our car broke down and we didn't have any tools but Jim MacGyvered it with some toenail clippers and we were able to limp to the service station.

It is why some of the American troops experimented with commercial drones that they could weaponize by fixing with explosives, to see how to counter such tactics, much as Russian troops have had to learn how to defend against Ukraine’s use of store-bought drones that have been MacGyvered with explosives.

2024 April 24, Helene Cooper, “NATO Puts on a Show of Force in the Shadow of Russia’s War”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(transitive) To assemble or repair something by ingenious improvisation, using everyday items that would not usually be used for the purpose.


revenant

19th century. From French revenant, the present participle of revenir (“to return”). Compare revenue.

Sometimes […] semi-identifications could be made on the basis of names. Henry VII's son Arthur was hailed as a revenant in this way.

2007, John Burrow, A History of Histories, Penguin, published 2009, page 184:

For granting even that Religion were dead; that it had died, half-centuries ago, with unutterable Dubois; or emigrated lately, to Alsace, with Necklace-Cardinal Rohan; or that it now walked as goblin revenant with Bishop Talleyrand of Autun; yet does not the Shadow of Religion, the Cant of Religion, still linger?

1837, Thomas Carlyle, The French Revolution: A History […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, (please specify the book or page number):

Earlier you mentioned a ghost, a revenant with which we may contaminate the Emperor.

1969, Frank Herbert, Dune Messiah, published 2008, →ISBN, page 19:

And to a revenant who had lived in body after body, died death after death, evanescence could seem like a dream of peace. But the chimaera could ill afford to let soldiers go.

2011, Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke & Bone, →ISBN:

If reports from the time are to be believed, 17th-century Poland was awash in revenants—not vampires, exactly, but proto-zombies who harassed the living by drinking their blood or, less disagreeably, stirring up a ruckus in their homes.

2023 September 5, Franz Lidz, “Undying Dread: A 400-Year-Old Corpse, Locked to Its Grave”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A supernatural being that returns from the dead; a zombie or ghost.


invulnerable

From Middle French invulnérable, from Latin invulnerābilis, from vulnerābilis, from vulnerō (“I wound”), from vulnus (“wound”), equivalent to in- + vulnerable.

His gaze went to Hirken, who stood gloating behind invulnerable transparisteel.

1979, Brian Daley, Han Solo at Stars' End:

Incapable of being injured; not vulnerable.


invulnerability

en-noun

invulnerability (countable and uncountable, plural invulnerabilities)


flitter

Then all three went out to the flitter. A tiny speedster, really; a torpedo bearing stubby wings and the ludicrous tail-surfaces, the multifarious driving-, braking-, side-, top-, and under-jets so characteristic of the tricky, cranky, but ultra-maneuverable breed.

1941 July, Edward Elmer Smith, “The Vortex Blaster”, in Comet Stories, volume 1, number 5, page 10:

Small flitters were powered and made ready, and everything that carried manual controls was inspected and cleared for action.

1944 March, George Oliver Smith, “Circle of Confusion”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume 33, number 1, page 54:

The small flitters carried by the Queen for exploration work held with comfort a two-man crew—with crowding, three.

1955, Alice Mary Norton (as Andrew North), Sargasso of Space, page 53:

The flitter tumbled from the shimmering throat of the wormhole transit route from Port Sol to Earthport.

1994, Stephen Baxter, Ring, →ISBN, page 43:

(science fiction) A small aircraft or spacecraft.


pay-off

At the current monthly payment level, it'll take 32 more months to reach pay-off.

A payment in full; the state of having been paid in full.

Where's the pay-off for that whole segment of the plot?

(colloquial) A resolution or justification of an event that has already occurred, especially in fiction.


synth

(science fiction) A synthetic humanoid, an android, a robot, a clone


phylactery

Recorded since circa 1380, Middle English philaterie, either from Old French filatiere (12th c), or via Medieval Latin philaterium, an alteration of Late Latin phylacterium (“reliquary”), from Ancient Greek φυλακτήριον (phulaktḗrion, “safeguard, amulet”), via adjective φυλακτήριος (phulaktḗrios, “serving as a protection”), from φυλακτήρ (phulaktḗr, “watcher, guard”), itself from φυλάσσω (phulássō, “guard or ward off”), from φύλαξ (phúlax, “a guard”).

klaf

parchment used in Jewish ritual contexts

mezuzah

parchment scroll of Torah verses in a decorative container

"Heh. No. You're right about that. Often an object that was important to a lich in life serves as the phylactery, but it could be anything," Diran said.

2007, Tim Waggoner, Forge of the Mind Slayers, Wizards of the Coast, page 21:

'So,' says Calli impatiently, holding her head proudly, 'let's destroy the phylactery and let the lich rot in peace and then take the artefacts.'
'It's not as simple as that,' says Joachim. 'The phylactery is the mask.'
An unnerving silence fills the room. The only way to destroy a lich permanently is to destroy the phylactery it uses to house its soul.

2011, J. L. Connew, Origins of the Geomancer, Xlibris, page 112:

2017, Jason Paul McCartan, Through Dungeons Deeper: A Survival Guide For Dungeoneers: As Written by a Survivor, InfiniBadger Press, page 121,
Destroying the lich without destroying the phylactery first just allows the lich to regenerate its body over time (or steal someone else's) and it really pisses them off. With the intense connection a lich has with its phylactery if it gets destroyed the lich will know instantly.

(fantasy, roleplaying games) An enchanted object used (by such as a lich) to contain and protect the owner's soul.

命匣

object enchanted so as to contain and protect a soul


Macbeth

Anglicization of Middle Irish Mac Bethad, equivalent to the modern mac (“son of”) bheatha (“life”).

A William Shakespeare play, about the Scottish royal family.

麥克白 /麦克白

the main character of the Shakespeare play Macbeth


korrigan

Borrowed from Breton korrigan, from korr (“dwarf”) + -ig (diminutive suffix) + -an (hypocoristic suffix).

A continental Celtic female fairy called a corrigan, malevolent, sometimes seductive.

1945, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun, HarperCollins, published 2019, →ISBN, page 9:

A long-haired nocturnal and often malevolent Breton fairy princess.