History Main / SciFiNameBuzzWords

** [[ILoveNuclearPower atomic]] (particularly during the 1950s)

Very common in German translations of English SF titles (astonishingly, the new fad of "The Title Which Was Overly Long And Really Pathetic" has never took off in SF, so this trope will probably stay [[note]]the only offhand counterexemplar is [[Literature/TheLongWayToASmallAngryPlanet "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet"]] which got a literal interpretation[[/note]]).

** [[StunGun taser]]

A SuperTrope to SpaceX, PhotoprotoneutronTorpedo, SIPrefixName.

->''Ship breaks down.''
->'''Rick''': Oh, great.

->'''Rick''': "Quantum carburetor"? Jesus Morty, you can't just add a s-''*burp*'' sci-fi word to a car word and hope it means something. Huh.. looks like something's wrong with the microverse-battery.

A SuperTrope to SpaceX, PhotoprotoneutronTorpedo.

These tend to rise and fall in favor over time. Using one from a different era can give your technology a retro, period feel. Occurs frequently in SteamPunk, based on the perception that it was common to name things using Latin compound words, i.e. quadro-velocipede, electro-fulminator (both from ''Series/{{Legend}}''). This was actually a feature of Georgian scientific culture, which is what Lovecraft was imitating.

** cyber- (relatively new, since the 1960's)

** peta- (...really big!)

** [[FrickinLaserBeams laser]]

->'''Rick''': "Quantum carburetor"? Jesus Morty, you can't just add a s-[[{{Gasshole}} *burp*]] sci-fi word to a car word and hope it means something. Huh.. looks like something's wrong with the [[HypocriticalHumor microverse-battery]].

->'''Rick''': "Quantum carburetor"? Jesus Morty, you can't just add a s-[[TheGimmick *burp*]] sci-fi word to a car word and hope it means something. Huh.. looks like something's wrong with the [[HypocriticalHumor microverse-battery]].

** [[IProduct i-]] (and it must always be lowercase i, then capital, eg iCarly)

** i- (and it must always be lowercase i, then capital, eg iCarly)

** meta- (lit. "above", colloquially "beyond")

->'''Morty''': Oh boy. What's wrong Rick? Is it the quantum carburetor or something?

->'''Morty''': Oh boy. What's wrong Rick? Is it the quantum carborator or something?
->'''Rick''': "Quantum carborator"? Jesus Morty, you can't just add a s-[[TheGimmick *burp*]] sci-fi word to a car word and hope it means something. Huh.. looks like something's wrong with the [[HypocriticalHumor microverse-battery]].

->'''Qui-Gon''': Let's see. Electro-axe. Energy mace. "Plasma bow"?? You just took a D&D equipment list and stuck techy words in front, right?
->'''GM''': Don't be stupid.
->'''Qui-Gon''': [[LaserBlade Ten foot laser pole...]]
-->-- ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids''

-->'''Qui-Gon''': Let's see. Electro-axe. Energy mace. "Plasma bow"?? You just took a D&D equipment list and stuck techy words in front, right?
-->'''GM''': Don't be stupid.
-->'''Qui-Gon''': [[LaserBlade Ten foot laser pole...]]
-->''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids''

** -space ([[StarWars Hyperspace]], [[Franchise/{{Halo}} Slipspace]], [[Franchise/StarTrek Subspace]]...)

** [[TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}} bananafanabobaser]]

*** graser
*** maser
*** uvaser
*** xaser

** -oid (like, but not quite the same, i.e. humanoid, jokeoid)

----

** [[PhineasAndFerb -inator]]

** -space ([[StarWars Hyperspace]], [[{{Halo}} Slipspace]], [[Franchise/StarTrek Subspace]]...)

-->''DarthsAndDroids''

These tend to rise and fall in favor over time. Using one from a different era can give your technology a retro, period feel. Note that in the Victorian age, on which most SteamPunk is based, it was common to name things using Latin compound words, i.e. quadro-velocipede, electro-fulminator (both from ''Series/{{Legend}}'').

** [[http://www.sjgames.com/munchkin/starmunchkin/ bananafanabobaser]]