heat-ray en · NOUN
Etymology
The fictional sense was coined by British science fiction author H. G. Wells in 1896 in The War of the Worlds.
Meanings
-
A weapon that fires a beam of extremely high temperature.
Near-synonyms: ray-gun, ray gun, death ray, energy weapon
In the other cases the shells had missed, and the batteries had been at once annihilated by the Heat-Rays. Heavy losses of soldiers were mentioned[.]
1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 125:
- (dated) Synonym of calorific ray.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| heat-rays | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
energy weapon · ray gun · death ray · ray-gun · calorific ray