fanac

Etymology

Shortened fan +‎ activity.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfæn.æk/
• Rhymes: -ænæk

Noun

fanac (uncountable)

1. (dated, fandom slang) The activity of fans, particularly of science fiction.
   • 1956 September, Robert Bloch, “Some of Best Fans are Friends”, in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, volume 11, number 3, page 57:

     This, however, is only part of the story—just as fanzines and fan activity (Fanac) are only a part of the totality which is fandom.

   • 1977, Brian Ash, The Visual encyclopedia of science fiction, Harmony Books, page 274:

     It must be emphasised that this was genuinely a 'historical' action; letter-writing to the prozines is currently a discouraged area of fanac.

   • 2002, Mike Resnick, Once a Fan..., Wildside Press LLC, page 274:

     The advent of the computer and the modem means that an increasingly large number of fans indulge in most of their fanac online.

References

• Jeff Prucher, editor (2007), “fanac”, in Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction, Oxford, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 56.
• Jesse Sheidlower, editor (2001–2025), “fanac n.”, in Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction.

Anagrams

• afanc