tractor beam

English

Etymology

Possibly a shortening of attractor beam; note however the broader meaning of tractor (“machinery that pulls something”). Coined by American science fiction author E. E. Smith in 1931 in his novel Spacehounds of IPC, first serialized in Amazing Stories.

Noun

tractor beam (plural tractor beams)

1. (science fiction) A device-generated beam used to attract other objects from a distance.

   Antonyms: pressor beam, repulsor beam

   • 1931 August, E. E. “Doc” Smith, “Spacehounds of IPC”, in Amazing Stories‎^[1], volume 6, number 5, page 549:

     Through it Stevens saw with satisfaction that the Forlorn Hope was not being abandoned; in the grip of powerful tractor beams, every fragment of the wreckage was following close behind them in their flight through space.

   • 1945 June, Murray Leinster, “The Ethical Equations”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume 35, number 4, page 122:

     By the way they're braced, there are tractor beams and pressor beams and—there are vacuum tubes that have grids but apparently work with cold cathodes.

   • 1977, George Lucas, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, spoken by Han Solo (Harrison Ford):

     We're caught in a tractor beam! It's pulling us in!

Translations

device-generated beam used to attract other objects from a distance

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 牽引波束／牵引波束 (qiānyǐn bōshù), 牽引光束／牵引光束 (qiānyǐn guāngshù)

• Czech: ^{(please verify)} vlečný paprsek
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} trekstraal (nl)
• Estonian: ^{(please verify)} haardekiir
• Finnish: vetosäde
• French: ^{(please verify)} rayon tracteur m
• German: Traktorstrahl (de) m, Fangstrahl m
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} קרן גרירה
• Italian: raggio traente m
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} traktorstråle
• Persian: ^{(please verify)} پرتو کششی
• Spanish: rayo tractor m
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} traktorstråle

References

• Jeff Prucher, editor (2007), “tractor beam”, in Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction, Oxford, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.
• Jesse Sheidlower, editor (2001–2024), “tractor beam n.”, in Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction.

Further reading

• tractor beam on Wikipedia.Wikipedia