Brave New Words : The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction

378 Pages·2007·23.282 MB·English

by  Jeff Prucher

OXFORD
DICTIONARY
EDITED BY
I EFF
OF
PRUCHER
SCIENCE
FICTION
INTRODUCTION
BY GENE WOLFE
From A to Z, Brave New Words presents the
shared language of the entire genre, including
the vocabulary of science fiction criticism
and science fiction fans. Not just a useful ref­
erence, an informative history, and an enter­
taining browse, this book is also a document
of the enduring legacy of science fiction writ­
ers and fans. It is a must-have for every sci­
ence fiction writer or fan, whether actifan,
passifan, faan, or just a plain old Earther.
BRAVE NEW WORDS
The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction

Brave New Words
The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction
Edited by JEFF PRUCHER
Introduction by GENE WOLFE
OXTORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Copyright © 2007 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
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mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of
Oxford University Press
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Prucher, Jeff.
Brave new words : the Oxford dictionary of science fiction / Jeff Prucher.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13:978-0-19-530567-8 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10:0-19-530567-1 (alk. paper)
1. Sciencefiction—Dictionaries. I. Title. II. Title: Oxford dictionary of science
fiction.
PN3433.4.P78 2007
809.3’876203—dc22 2007037280
ISBN-10: 0-19-530567-1
ISBN-13:978-0-19-530567-8
987654321
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
for REBECCA

Acknowledgments
A great many people helped and encouraged me in writing this dictionary. I am
grateful to my editorial board, Mark L. Olson and Anthony R. Lewis, who gamely
read everything I wrote, for their many suggestions and gentle corrections. They
saved me many times from errors large and small; any errors or infelicities to be
found in the text are my own.
I feel extremely lucky to have had Erin McKean as my editor. This dictionary was
her idea to begin with, and I am thankful to her for giving me the opportunity to
write it. Her continued advice and understanding throughout the process have been
extraordinary.
I am grateful to the Oxford English Dictionary and its Science Fiction Citations
Project (see next page) and to Jonathan Lighter, Jane O'Connor, and Grant Barrett
of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang for generously allowing me to use
their citations.
Many others have contributed citations, information, suggestions, technical assis­
tance, and advice at various stages of the dictionary: Liz Duffy Adams, John Aegard,
Grant Barrett, Ian Brookes, Charles N. Brown and Locus, Peter Coogan, Leonardo
De Sd, Malcolm Farmer, Victoria Elizabeth Garcia, Joseph Gerharz, Damien Hall,
Michelle Hlubinka, Sean Kleefeld, Steve Lieber, Richard Lupoff, Jeff Michael, Orion
Montoya, Jason Mosser, Bill Mullins, Will Murray, Sara Ryan, Peter Sattler, Nick Seid-
ler, Nisi Shawl, Jesse Sheidlower, Ivo Thomas, and the good folks on the American
Dialect Society mailing list. The paging staff and interlibrary loan department of
the San Francisco Public Library were extremely helpful in fielding all manner of
increasingly arcane requests, as were the special collections departments of the
Temple University and University of California, Riverside libraries. Special thanks
are due to Alistair Durie and Fred Galvin for the sheer volume of citations they
found or verified for me, and to Mike Christie both for his citations and for his
thoughtful editorial suggestions.
Finally, Rebecca Novick has been a constant source of encouragement. Her en­
thusiasm for, and unflagging belief in, both me and the dictionary have made this
book possible.
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