cavorite

English

Etymology

From Cavor +‎ -ite. First used in 1901 in The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells. It was named after the fictional Dr. Cavor. The initial use was capitalized, but later authors borrowing the concept sometimes changed it to lowercase.

In the first use, the metal acted as a gravity shield; after the metal was cooled, objects contained within it were no longer subject to gravity. Some later uses, e.g., Alan Moore's, imagine the substance to simply have a negative gravitational mass.

Noun

cavorite (uncountable)

1. (science fiction) A hypothetical substance with anti-gravity effects.
   • 1901, H. G. Wells, The First Men in the Moon, Chapter 3:

     “It seems to me it wouldn't cost much to cart any weight anywhere if you packed it in a Cavorite case.”

   • 1999, Vernor Vinge, A Deepness in the Sky, reprinted by Macmillan, published 2000, →ISBN, page 760:

     “In the early years, they were the most primitive structures ever to fly in space, cheap and overbuilt and overcrewed, hoisted on cavorite wings.”