Noun

(uncountable, neologism) A subgenre of speculative science fiction set in an anachronistic 19th century society.

* {{quote-magazine

, year = 1987 , month = April , magazine = Locus , section = Locus Letters , first = Kevin Wayne , last = Jeter , authorlink = K. W. Jeter , volume = 20 , issue = 4 (

315 overall)

, page = 57 , passage = as long as we can come up with a fitting collective term for Powers, Blaylock and myself. Something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like 'steam-punks', perhaps... }}

* {{quote-magazine

, year = 1987 , month = May , magazine = Locus , section = , first = James , last = Blaylock , authorlink= James Blaylock , volume = 20 , issue = 5 (

316 overall)

, page = 57 , passage = There's railroad trains, a lot of steam-driven stuff, but that's about it. More ‘steam punk’, I suppose. }}

* {{quote-news

, year = 2008 , date = May 8 , author = Ruth La Ferla , title = Steampunk Moves Between 2 Worlds , work = New York Times , url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/08/fashion/08PUNK.html , passage = It is also the vision of steampunk , a subculture that is the aesthetic expression of a time-traveling fantasy world, one that embraces music, film, design and now fashion, all inspired by the extravagantly inventive age of dirigibles and steam locomotives, brass diving bells and jar-shaped protosubmarines. }}

(countable) A writer of steampunk fiction.

* {{quote-magazine

, year = 1987 , month = April , magazine = Locus , section = Locus Letters , author = Kevin Wayne Jeter , volume = , number = , page = 57 , passage = Personally, I think Victorian fantasies are going to be the next big thing, as long as we can come up with a fitting collective term for Powers, Blaylock and myself. Something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like 'steam-punks', perhaps. }}

(countable, cosplay) A person cosplaying as a steampunk character.

* {{quote-magazine

, year = 2009 , month = September , magazine = Exhibition Hall , url = http://efanzines.com/ExhibHall/ExhibHall-01.pdf , title = An Interview with Emmett and Klaude Davenport of the Clockwork Cabaret , author = Klaude Davenport , volume = , issue = 1 , page = 6 , passage = It wound up being an overwhelmingly positive experience that made me appreciate the steampunks around me even more. }}

* {{quote-usenet

, year = 2010 , monthday = September 24 , author = John Naylor , email = , title = Re: [Steam-Scholars] Hello again and a query , id = 45b85.6b512dc6.39cddc00@aol.com , group = steam-scholars , url = https://groups.google.com/d/msg/steam-scholars/bdMTIoChWyQ/pz5TAUpNxcYJ }}

It is extremely rare that you speak to someone who says "I want to be an ...." This would suggest that for the vast majority of steampunks their choice of outfit (at least intitially) is less a conscious attempt at portrayal and more of a spontaneous and potentially subconscious growth of an idea.

Noun

(-)

A subgenre of speculative fiction, based on the technology and society of the Renaissance.

*2011 , Nader Elhefnawy, After the New Wave: Science Fiction Since 1980

*:The term [steampunk] is also frequently applied to works set in original worlds drawing inspiration from nineteenth century culture and technology, and at times is even used to refer to comparable blends of alternate history and retro-futurism across a much wider historical span (blurring with categories like Renaissance-era "clockpunk " and interwar "dieselpunk").