Sci-Fi
/ˈsaɪ faɪ/noun
A genre of fiction dealing with imagined future science, technology, space travel, or extraterrestrial life.
Did you know?Unlike words with ancient roots, “sci-fi” is a 20th-century clipped coinage, popularized in the 1950s, and its punchy sound helped make speculative fiction feel fast, modern, and mass-market.
Etymological Timeline
17th Century
Latin
scientia
“knowledge”
14th Century
Latin
fictio
“a shaping, feigning, or invention”
19th Century
English
science fiction
“fiction based on imagined scientific developments”
1930s
English
sci-fi
“a clipped slang form of science fiction”
Modern English
English
sci-fi
“science fiction as a genre label”
Explore more surprising origins