spacefarer n.

a person who travels in space, an astronaut; (also) a space traveller from another planet

  • 1936 B. Olsen Space Marines & the Slavers in Amazing Stories Dec. 71/2 page image Bob Olsen bibliography

    The three spacefarers blasted their way through that perilous merry-go-round of cosmic junk known as โ€˜the zone of asteroidsโ€™.

  • 1939 L. Margulies in Le Zombie 28 Oct. 2

    Youโ€™ll find Captain Future the most dynamic space-farer the cosmos has ever seen.

  • 1940 Thrilling Wonder Stories Mar. 117/1

    Venus Expedition Number One signs off for good in this issue, and we bid farewell to that gallant band of explorers. Gordon A. Gilesโ€™ band of spacefarers is a hardy lot, and it has been exciting to watch them unravel the mysteries of the cloudy planet, discovering enigmatic pyramids on its surface, as on Mars and Earth.

  • 1971 P. Anderson A Little Knowledge in Analog Science Fiction Aug. 108/2 Poul Anderson bibliography

    After all, with the hyperdrive opening endless wonders to them, spacefarers tended to choose the most obviously glamorous.

  • 1987 G. Bear Forge of God (1988) 78 Greg Bear bibliography

    Edward had always sided with the scientists who thought Earth too puny and out of the way to be of interest to potential spacefarers. Of course, that was geocentrism in reverse.

  • 1993 A. C. Clarke & G. Lee Rama Revealed 10 Arthur C. Clarke Gentry Lee bibliography

    The purpose of the Rama series of spacecraft was to acquire and catalogue as much information as possible about spacefarers in the galaxy.

  • 2000 A. Reynolds Revelation Space xii. 201 Alastair Reynolds bibliography

    Unrestricted, any of these spacefarers could have dominated the entire galaxy in the totally inconsequential time of a few tens of millions of years.


Research requirements

antedating 1936

Earliest cite

Bob Olsen, in Amazing Stories

Research History
Malcolm Farmer submitted a 1971 cite from Poul Anderson's "A Little Knowledge".
Jeff Prucher submitted a 1940 cite from an editorial feature in Thrilling Wonder Stories.
Jesse Sheidlower submitted a 1936 cite from Bob Olsen in Amazing Stories.

Earliest cite in OED2: 1974; improved to 1939 in OED3.

Last modified 2021-01-12 03:14:45
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.