Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"For the sciences, the way to change science's perception of things is to wait until all the old farts have died off."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Gynoid | ||
| A female android. |
This term was not coined by science fiction writers.
In science fiction, the word "gynoid" has come to mean a female robot, although Jones’ book seems to refer to her as having a biological origin. As far as I know, this is the first time it was used in a science fiction story; however, see the discussion below.
| A glistening finger tapped Cho on the shoulder: "There is no doubt about it. This is a metagenetic android."
"No I'm not!" said Cho. And the whole room was startled to hear her speak. "I'm sorry. Gynoid, I meant of course. That's all I wanted to know, anyway. We were pretty sure, but we thought we'd like to confirm it. It's very satisfying. A very satisfying turn of events." Derveet stared at what was Cho: awe greater than horror, greater than any feeling... ...The best of them came from a special pleasure city in the east. They were called "wayang legong" - angel dolls. They were not machines but perfect lifelong companions. They were invulnerable to fire, disease, any kind of weapon; invulnerable to time..." |
| Technovelgy from Divine Endurance,
by Gwyneth Jones. Published by Allen and Unwin in 1984 Additional resources -
|
This word seems to have been backformed from android, which uses the Greek root for "man" and literally means "man-shaped".
The word "gynoid" is not currently used in medicine, but was in use in the first half of the twentieth century, if not earlier. For example, a medical textbook might distinguish between the form taken by "android obesity" as opposed to "gynoid obesity".
Compare to robotess from R.U.R. by Karel Capek.
Compare to the manufactured wife from A Wife Manufactured to Order (1895) by Alice W. Fuller, the
psychophonic nurse from The Psychophonic Nurse (1928) by David H. Keller, the
teleoperated robot surrogate from The Robot and the Lady (1938) by Manly Wade Wellman, the
mechanical bride from The Mechanical Bride (1954) by Fritz Leiber, the
maid-robot from The Midas Plague (1954) by Frederik Pohl and the
Nanny from Nanny (1955) by Philip K. Dick.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Divine Endurance
More Ideas
and Technology by Gwyneth Jones
Tech news articles related to Divine Endurance
Tech news articles related to works by Gwyneth Jones
| Mori3 Autonomous Shapeshifting Robot |
| Tesla Seeks 'Tesla Robotaxi' And 'Robobus' Trademarks Ignoring Prior Art |
| Scary Grid Safety Robots |
| Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout! |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
