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"Self-education is, I firmly believe, the only kind of education there is."
- Isaac Asimov
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| 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.
| 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.
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| Atlas Robot Makes Uncomfortable Movements |
| Humanoid Robots Tickle The Ivories |
| Golf Ball Test Robot Wears Them Out |
| PaXini Supersensitive Robot Fingers |
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'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...'
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...'
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
