archlord

In the Darklord city of Helgedad a civil war has raged for five years following your defeat of Haakon, Archlord of the Black City.

1987, Joe Denver, Lone Wolf Club Newsletter #7, Cassell, Petter, Galpin, page 5:

The very same who slew my brother, Lord Eridar?’ The new Archlord shook his head sorrowfully. ‘I am saddened to find such old and trusted friends involved in this great treason.'

1990, Alexander Baliol, The Magefire, Headline Publishing Company, page 22:

Lorcan shrugged. “And I wasn’t born a fool. There’s a great deal more going on here than it seems. More than even our archlords would ever say — more than my sister was ever going to be foolish enough to leave written. Why would I try and overtake you, Magros? I have enough to do trying to make sure this looks like it was all Sairche’s fault.”

2013, Erin Marie Evans, The Adversary, Wizards of the Coast, →ISBN, page 186:

(science fiction, fantasy, rare) An eminent lord, usually male, who is above many or all other lords.


danmei

From Mandarin 耽美 (dānměi, “indulging beauty”).

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, danmei has also been influenced by Euro-American slash fictions. During this time, an extensive range of danmei works in various forms, including original fictions, fan fictions, manga, animations, audio series and TV dramas, has been created, consumed and circulated on the internet.

2021, Liang Ge, “Problematizing heteronormativity: Performativity, resignification and A/B/O fiction in Chinese danmei literature”, in East Asian Journal of Popular Culture, volume 7, number 2, →DOI, page 242:

Breaking Through the Clouds is a police series as well as a danmei manhua, so it's a great option for anyone who wants a romantic story with an uncommon duo and the thrilling quality of a procedural series like Criminal Minds or CSI.

2025 January 12, Chelsea Steele, Mayra Garcia, Jahanvi Shah, & Maria Remizova, “30 Must-Read Boys' Love Manhua For BL Fans”, in CBR, archived from the original on 2025-01-14:

(fiction) A genre of Chinese fiction depicting romantic relationships between male characters.


skyport

For safety reasons, a certain area around the skyport was fenced off. The ground track of the aircraft has to be controlled precisely during maneuver, therefore track errors and overshoot had to be minimized.

2017, Bogusław Dołęga, Robert Głębocki, Damian Kordos, Advances in Aerospace Guidance, Navigation and Control, page 477:

(rare, sometimes science fiction) An airport.


werehare

werehares (plural)
were-hare (alternative)

“‘Oh my,’ cried the first camper. ‘Now I understand you completely. You've turned into a werehare!’

1993, M. C. Varley, Adventures in Wonderland: A Wonderland Howl-Oween, illustrated edition, Disney Press, →ISBN, page 26:

Like all the children in the neighborhood, A____ and Z____ had grown up hearing strange stories about the Were-Hare, the monster rabbit who allegedly haunted the woods behind their street. According to legend, the Were-Hare had teeth of gold, so long they reached below his chin. Anybody bitten by the Were-Hare went mad—and believed for the rest of his life he was a rodent in human form. On the other hand, anybody who managed to extract one of the Were-Hare's teeth would have good luck for as long as he could keep the tooth.

2013 April 2, Pseudonymous Bosch, Write This Book: A Do-It-Yourself Mystery, illustrated edition, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, →ISBN:

"Maybe it wasn't the Seeing Hare at all, maybe it was a person in hare form. A were-hare. Look, I don't know!"

2015 June 9, Lev Grossman, The Magicians Trilogy Books 1-3: The Magicians; The Magician King; The Magicians Land, Penguin, →ISBN:

If he hadn't know better, he'd have thought she was a werehare, something that lived to nibble grass and hide. Not the infuriated creature who had nearly killed a werewolf in his prime.

2020 March 31, MaryJanice Davidson, “Chapter 3”, in Bears Behaving Badly, volume 1, Sourcebooks, Inc., →ISBN:

(fiction) A shapeshifter who can assume the form of a hare.


radsuit

(science fiction) An antiradiation suit.


turtle-press

(printing, obsolete) A type of printing press in which a turtle (a curved plate) was used.


reality bender

(comics, fiction, science fiction) A fictional character or entity with the ability to manipulate or alter the fundamental laws and structures of reality, defying the natural order and existing rules.


reality warper

(comics, fiction, science fiction) A fictional character or concept possessing the ability to manipulate and alter reality itself, often bending the laws of physics and existence to their will.


forgetty

Coined or popularized by Cordwainer Smith (see quotations below). Seemingly from forget + -y (suffix forming diminutive or familiar nouns).

af

-y <pos:suffix forming diminutive or familiar nouns><id:diminutive>

Forgetties were barely above underpeople in status. They were persons convicted of various major crimes, to whom the courts of the worlds, or the Instrumentality, had allowed total amnesia instead of death or some punishment worse than death

1965, Cordwainer Smith, “On the storm planet”, in When the People Fell, published 2012, page 517:

Alma came out of the cube Finisternis as a forgetty, conditioned to remember nothing of her long sad psychotic life before the Instrumentality had sent her on a wild mission among the stars.

1965, Cordwainer Smith, “Three to a Given Star”, in Galaxy, volume 24, page 127:

She had thought in the past of autoforgetting with dread and fear, feeling something unclean and wretched about being a forgetty. But there was something worse, a whole universe of somethings-worse.

1979, M.A. Foster, Gameplayers of Zan, page 27:

“You ever been feverish before?”
“Once. I only forgot about a year and a half.” […] “I’ll be a fresh forgetty in a day or two, and you don’t keep somebody in jail when they don’t even remember breaking the law.”

1987, Rory Harper, “Snorkeling in the River Lethe”, in Amazing Stories, volume 61, page 120:

(science fiction) A person whose memory has been erased or damaged.


printing paper

en-noun

printing paper (countable and uncountable, plural printing papers)

(printing) Any type of paper designed for use in printing processes, excluding newsprint.


gumberoo

(US, folklore) A fictional animal with hide so tough that bullets bounce off it.


agropelter

agropelters (plural)
argopelter (alternative)

(US, folklore) A mythical monster of the United States, said to inhabit hollow tree trunks and hurl wooden splinters and branches at passers-by.


splintercat

(US, folklore) A fictional cat-like animal of the Pacific Northwest said to run into trees, knocking the branches off and withering the trunks.


dungavenhooter

(US, folklore) A fictional crocodile-like animal with no mouth and huge nostrils that uses its tail as a weapon.


belled buzzard

(US, folklore) A fictional buzzard-like bird with a bell attached, whose ringing is an omen of disaster.


ball-tailed cat

ball-tailed cat (plural ball-tailed cats)

(US, folklore) A fictional animal said to resemble a mountain lion, but with a long tail ending in a solid ball with which it strikes its prey.


mirror universe

mirror universe (plural mirror universes)

Star Trek: The Original Series introduced a mirror universe in which humans had aggressively conquered parts of the galaxy rather than forming the peaceful Federation, and the setting was revisited in several of the franchise's spinoff shows.

alternative universe
alternative universe

(science fiction) An alternative universe within a fictional work, separate from the universe normally depicted, where familiar characters and settings are present but in a systematically "reversed" manner, often by being evil or otherwise hostile.


ligne claire

From French ligne claire (“clear line”), originally from Dutch klare lijn (“clear line”), originally coined by Dutch artist Joost Swarte in 1977 to describe the work of Belgian artist Hergé.

(comics) A style of drawing focusing on strong, clear shapes and bold coloring without hatching or shading; typically featuring cartoonish characters against realistic backgrounds.


goofus bird

(US, folklore) A backwards-flying bird that builds its nest upside down, according to lumberjack folklore.


wampus cat

(US, folklore) A folkloric cat-like creature, of varying description.


axhandle hound

axhandle hounds (plural)
axehandle hound (alternative)

(US, folklore) A folkloric dog-like animal with a somewhat ax-shaped body, supposed to subsist on a diet of the handles of axes left unattended.


lifepod

(science fiction) A vessel or container designed to sustain the life of individuals inside.


predatory publishing

(publishing) An exploitative academic publishing business model, where the journal or publisher prioritizes self-interest at the expense of scholarship.


magitech

/ˈmæd͡ʒɪˌtɛk/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-magitech.wav

There have been, as I am sure you must be aware of, a few games released already that feature a mixture of high technology and magic. Probably the most successful one is FASA's Shadowrun, although my favorite setting in that "genre" is one which is featured in GURPS Time Travel Adventures. (It is an alternative present, in which magic was released by the first nuclear bomb test in 1945. Magic, tech, and magitech are used both separately and together. In that world, there are zones of varying magical strength; in those with strong magic, old-style tech is becoming less common, as -- for instance -- fairly large construction projects can be handled by a single or a few mages specializing in earth-elemental magic....)

1994 April 10, Leif Magnar Kj|nn|y, “Magic and Technology Question”, in rec.games.frp.misc (Usenet):

Even further, I believe that neutronium is supposed to be a superfluid...although maybe some type of field effect might be able to lock it into some sort of matrix. Definitely some sort of magitech solution would be required.

1994 September 14, Thomas Bagwell, “Carbon Neutronium?”, in rec.arts.startrek.tech (Usenet):

So while, for instance, I love the Eberron setting which was built from the ground up to suit Third Edition D&D, that's only a minor part of why I like it; the majority of the reason for my affection is that it takes a very modern approach to fantasy - I don't mean just the magitech aspects, but also the myriad of ways in which it differs from your bog-standard pseudo-medieval fantasy world while still having all the kings, knights, dragons, and elves you could want.

2006 June 25, Christopher Adams, “Stats for LOTR characters?”, in rec.games.frp.dnd (Usenet):

“They're just excited to see some rare magitech. They’re like little kids, really. It’s cute. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

2022 January 7, Patora Fuyuhara, “The Wicked Devout” (chapter 1), in Andrew Hodgson, transl., In Another World with My Smartphone, volume 24, J-Novel Club, page 19:

“Find, Connect,” Error cast the spells in rapid order, magic pouring from him into his magitech computer, a focus item he’d spent more than 10,000 points purchasing to help empower his spells.

2022 September 1, Mikasane, “War (Error Machina / ???)” (chapter 22), in Magical Girl Gunslinger, Royal Road, archived from the original on 2025-04-06:

(science fiction, fantasy) Technology developed by combining magic and engineering.


yaoi hole

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-yaoi hole.wav

(Japanese fiction, slang) In Japanese homoerotic fiction, a supposed male sexual organ distinct from the penis and anus, derived from anatomical error in early illustrations.


yaoi hand

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-yaoi hand.wav

(Japanese fiction, slang, in the plural) A large hand of a man or boy, associated with the Japanese homoerotic fiction genre of yaoi.


Water Baby

(folklore) A kind of spirit in Native American folklore, inhabiting bodies of water and often appearing as an infant whose cries are an omen of impending disaster.


crossover book

(publishing) A trade book about an academic topic.


ed/ad ratio

(publishing) The ratio of editorial content to advertising content, usually expressed as a percentage.


barazoku

From Japanese 薔薇族 (barazoku, literally “rose tribe”), referencing the gay men's magazine Barazoku, which was the first of its kind published in Japan, itself named after a post-World War II term for gay men.


NLEA

(Philippines, law enforcement, fiction) Acronym of National Law Enforcement Agency, a law enforcement agency that is commonly mentioned in the Philippine soap operas known as teleseryes.


photolettering

(printing, historical) The formation of lines of type on photographic paper or film.


signiconic

en-adj

signiconic (comparative more signiconic, superlative most signiconic)

more signiconic (comparative)
most signiconic (superlative)

sign + iconic, coined by author Mark Z. Danielewski.

(literature) Characterized by intricate variations of typography, page layout, color, etc. that reflect spaces and events in the narrative.


anti-Pindaric

Here the image of burning Aetna is used to characterize the anti-Pindaric.

2003, John T. Hamilton, Soliciting Darkness - Pindar, Obscurity, and the Classical Tradition, page 209:

(poetry) Of a measure, where the strophe of one system answers to the strophe of another.


Pindaric ode

(poetry) A formal type of lyric poetry originating in Ancient Greece, consisting of a strophe, an antistrophe, and an epode.


screen-print

en-verb

screen-print (third-person singular simple present screen-prints, present participle screen-printing, simple past and past participle screen-printed)

screen-prints (present singular third-person)
screen-printing (participle present)
screen-printed (participle past)
screen-printed (past)

(transitive, printing) To apply ink or another material onto a surface through a prepared screen, in order to create a picture, design, or pattern.


ink-block

(printing) A block or table onto which the ink is spread, which is then transferred by the rollers or inkballs.


screen-printed

(printing) That has been designed or produced using a screen printing process.


retro-Victorian

en-adj

retro-Victorian (comparative more retro-Victorian, superlative most retro-Victorian)

more retro-Victorian (comparative)
most retro-Victorian (superlative)

/ˌɹɛt.ɹəʊ.vɪkˈtɔːɹ.iː.ən/

(literature) A type of novel or fiction, written in the 20th century or later, that is set in the Victorian era (1837–1901).


bunnicorn

bunnicorns (plural)
bunnycorn (alternative)

(fantasy, science fiction) A fictional creature resembling a rabbit and a unicorn.


bunnycorn

(fantasy, science fiction) Alternative form of bunnicorn.


high-concept

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-high concept.wav

PIE word
 *ḱóm
From high (adjective) + concept (noun).

korkeakonseptinen

of a work: based on an appealing and easily communicable idea; of or relating to such a work

A high concept show has something that somebody could recognize in the title and would want to see. […] Elvis Presley and pills are the highest concept you could get. There are three people who are so high concept that you can live off them – Elvis, Jackie Onassis and Liz Taylor.

1979 October 2, Joan Hanauer, quoting Paul L. Klein, “Exec sees ‘concepts’ as key to ratings battle”, in Mort Pye, editor, The Star-Ledger, volume 66, number 218, Newark, N.J.: S[amuel] I[rving] Newhouse [Sr.], →OCLC, page C [between 35 and 36], columns 2–3:

One might argue that Groundhog Day is a "high-concept" film. […] For many, a high-concept film is distinguished by its ease of summary. As Steven Spielberg puts it, "If a person can tell me the idea in 25 words or less, it's going to make a pretty good movie. I like ideas, especially movie ideas, that you can hold in your hand."

1999, Kristin Thompson, “Groundhog Day”, in Storytelling in the New Hollywood: Understanding Classical Narrative Technique, Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 153:

Yet for all its casual mayhem, Free Guy turns out to be a rather cuddly crowdpleaser, a high-concept blockbuster trifle with bubblegum ice cream clogging its circuits.

2021 August 6, A. A. Dowd, “The Ryan Reynolds Action-comedy Free Guy is a Truman Show for the Fortnite Age”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2023-04-19:

(film, literature, television, sometimes derogatory) Of a work such as a book, film, or television programme: based on an appealing and easily communicable idea; also, of or relating to such a work.

high concept

attested slightly later than the adjective


moral event horizon

en-noun

moral event horizon (plural moral event horizons)

(film, literature) A pivotal moment in a story when a character commits an act so heinous that it renders them irredeemably evil in the eyes of the audience and other characters.


(fandom slang, chiefly Japanese fiction, leetspeak) Censored spelling of loli.


mixed case

(printing) The use of both uppercase (capital) and lowercase (small) letters within a text.


spot UV

(printing) A printing technique in which a clear, shiny coating (ultraviolet varnish) is applied to areas of a printed material.


RTLO

(computing, typography) Initialism of right-to-left override.


mesode

From Ancient Greek μεσῳδός (mesōidós); see meso-, ode.

(poetry) Part of a lyric or choral ode which occurs between the strophe and antistrophe.


weeping angel

weeping angels (plural)
Weeping Angel (alternative)

From the name of the Weeping Angels in the Dr. Who franchise.

(fiction) A being that can only move when not being watched by a person, usually depicted as a statue or other humanoid inanimate object.


Yautja

Coined by author Steve Perry in the 1997 comic book Alien vs. Predator: Prey released by him and his daughter, SD Perry.

(science fiction) A member of a fictional alien species in the 1992 film Predator.

List of Alien vs. Predator novels#The_Machiko_Noguchi_Saga