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Publisher: Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007, £17.99; $29.95.
ISBN: 978 1 19 530567 8
Freelance lexicographer Jeff Prucher has edited an historical dictionary where each entry aims to define and chart the origin of science fiction words or terms, and includes chronological usage in addition to the familiar dictionary suspects - form and order of headwords, etymology and variant forms.
In attempting to cover a wide range of words, a few criteria have been applied and as such, words generally fall within three categories:
words that originated within the science fiction realm and subsequently entered mainstream dictionaries and everyday language, e.g. Robot and Spacesuit;
those words that have a particular science fiction meaning in addition to their more everyday usage, e.g. Jump and Gadget;
words that have originated from within science fiction fandom: this covers terms that people may have encountered - Trekie and Trekker and the more obscure such as Fann (a science fiction fan who is more interested in fandom than in science fiction itself).
In addition to the alphabetical listing of words, there are 11 short sidebars devoted to particular aspects of science fiction terminology including Expletives and Profanity, Naval Terms, Star Trek, Time Travel and Weapons. These sections are saturated with examples of how science fiction words have evolved and moved into the mainstream, and include notes on how the more recognisable science fiction contributors have added to the everyday lexicography...