Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun science fiction A member of a race of extraterrestrial mutants who appear in the television programme Doctor Who and are known for travelling in metallic shells, having monotone, mechanically distorted voices, repeating a limited number of phrases, and being bent on exterminating other beings mercilessly.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Coined by Terry Nation in 1963 for his script The Daleks on Doctor Who. Accounts of how he devised the word vary. Within the Doctor Who universe, the word is related to the name of the people from whom the Daleks evolved, the Kaled people.

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Examples

  • (I think the Dalek is pretty cute though, I have to say.) 10: 37 AM

    While it's still Valentine's Day ... Frank Wilson 2006

  • The compost bin that most people are familiar with is the plastic 'Dalek'-type bin.

    J.S. McDougall: From New Composter to Poo Composter: A Green Garbage Guide 2008

  • To the best of their knowledge, it’s a Dalek from the Colin Baker years because location filming was done in the area near the pond.

    Dr. Who Dalek found in UK pond 2009

  • This Dr. Who cake by Domestic Scientist with a flying Dalek is pretty freakin’ awesome.

    Planet-x.com.au » Dr. Who Birthday Cake 2010

  • Steve Moffatt's 'The Empty Child' & 'The Doctor Dances' beat two other series one episodes - Paul Cornell's 'Father's Day' and Rob Shearman's 'Dalek' -- plus an episode of the revived 'Battlestar Galactica'.

    August 29th, 2006 curufea 2006

  • Shearman has since achieved a kind of Doctor Who immortality by writing last year's episode called Dalek, but he deserves to be remembered as much for his amazing stage plays and radio dramas.

    Archive 2006-01-01 DAVID BISHOP 2006

  • When I was a child, Daleks used to chase me in my dreams … (I mean, I never actually WATCHED Dr Who when I was a child, but the Dalek was a kind of summary of everything which was scary) …

    Bearskinrug Articles 2010

  • James Marshall, also known as Dalek, has been known for his Space Monkey character, a futuristic mouse that had a prominent role in previous series of works.

    MoCoLoco 2010

  • A Dalek, which is expected to sell for £3,000, first appeared in Dr Who And The Daleks in

    WalesOnline - Home 2010

  • As to the World Fantasy Awards, I'm very, very happy for Rob Shearman, he of the new Doctor Who episode "Dalek" fame, who was attending his very first con and won a World Fantasy Award for Best Collection for Tiny Deaths.

    World Fantasy Convention 2008 Lou Anders 2008

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