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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

relationshipper en · NOUN

Etymology

From relationship + -er. Emerged in early online fandom of the television series The X-Files as a term for fans who supported the possibility of a Mulder/Scully romance. First attested on alt.tv.x-files in January 1996, but it was seemingly already in use by then.

Meanings

  1. (slang) A person who supports a romantic or sexual relationship between fictional characters or real people.
    • There were the relationshippers whose focus was on Mulder and Scully’s relationship, or the MSR as it was called (with a possible emphasis on romance). 2002, Tom Kessenich, EXaminations: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6-9 of The X-files, page 4:
    • In media fan lingo, the idea of an OTP—the One True Pairing, a fan's absolute favorite fictional couple—can be tossed around rather casually. In terms of my history as a relationshipper, Willow and Oz will always be mine, but the real OTP in my fan identity is Buffy and me. 2012, Lily Rothman, “'I'd Very Still': Anthropology of a Lapsed Fan”, in Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion, page 134:
    • I don’t care what the relationshippers say, it’s just so OBVIOUS to try to get the two of them together and the X-Files has never been obvious. 1996, Paul Mitchell, The Duchovny Files: The Truth Is In Here, page 190:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
relationshippers Number=Plur lexicographic

Antonyms

anti-shipper

Relateds

anti-relationshipper

Synonyms

shipper

wikipedia: Dana Scully · wikipedia: The X-Files · wikipedia: Fox Mulder