Terminology

The term "science fiction" first came into popular usage in the 1930s with the publication of Science Wonder Stories magazine by Hugo Gernsback. Gernsback had previously coined the portmanteau word "scientifiction" for the genre, but the term did not gain acceptance. Before then, stories in this genre were often referred to as "scientific romances".

Two competing abbreviations for "science fiction" are in common usage. "SF" (or "S.F.") is the term most commonly used by science fiction writers and serious fans. This is also the preferred usage in the U.K..

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The euphonic "sci-fi", popularized by Forrest J Ackerman in 1954, but coined earlier by Robert A. Heinlein, has grown popularity and is today by far the commonest term used in the popular press, although many hardcore fans and authors continue to wince at its usage or even consider it offensive. Brian Aldiss, defending the abbreviation "SF", notes that it is flexible enough to stand for science fantasy or speculative fiction, as well as science fiction. Some detractors of the term "sci-fi" have corrupted its pronunciation to "skiffy", which itself has become a sub-genre term for poorly made science fiction. Harlan Ellison has derided the term "sci-fi" as a "hideous neologism" that "sounds like crickets fucking" a comment to which Ackerman responded by producing buttons bearing the slogan, "I love the sound of crickets making love."

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One ongoing line of thought (as reflected in editorials in various genre magazines) is that SF is fiction where science genuinely plays a role in the story, while sci-fi is an entertainment genre featuring space ships, futuristic technology, bug-eyed monsters (BEMs) as exciting props and frightening images. In other words, in sci-fi the science elements are fantastical and intended to amaze and attract the reader or viewer, while in SF the science elements enable an original story that otherwise would not present the same conflicts and opportunities to the characters.

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Another source of dislike for the term sci-fi term is the tendency for the mainstream to use it as a collective term that lumps together not only true science fiction but fantasy, horror, comic books, cult films, special effects action films, only marginally related genres such as anime and gaming, and completely unrelated fields such as UFOlogy. (The term "science fiction" itself has also been used at various times as a collective marketing term for these genres.)

Despite this controversy, two high-profile science fiction-based cable networks in the United States and the United Kingdom take their name from this term, although both networks air programming which may not fit into everyone's definition of "science fiction." The channel name may be particularly suitable for those who dislike the term sci-fi since, according to Dave Langford:

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SF people [pronounce sci-fi] in tones of heavy irony to describe bad TV or movie sf.
—Fandom As She Is Spoke, September 1995

A variation of the term is "sci-fantasy".