holodeck

Etymology

From holo- + deck, coined in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Why this word is great

HOLODECK — [Noun] A room that provides holographic simulations for recreation, training, or exploration. From holo- (short for holographic) + deck (as in a floor or platform), coined in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Unlike "virtual reality" (which can be experienced anywhere with a headset) or "simulation chamber" (a broader term for any simulated environment), a holodeck is a dedicated space where light and force fields conspire to fabricate worlds. It is the hum of photons coalescing into a forest glade, the faint resistance of a holographic railing under your grip, the uncanny warmth of a simulated sun on your skin—a theater of infinite possibility, where reality itself becomes negotiable.

noun

  1. A room that provides holographic simulations for recreation, training, etc.“[…] the fact that science-fiction film, and indeed much — if not most — contemporary film, has become a technology on the way to somewhere else, whether that goal turns out to be immersive, interactive, or some holodeck-style fusion of the two.”