List of terms (1980)

For terms in the Re-imagined Series, see: List of terms (RDM).

This is a list of terms in Galactica 1980. Some of these terms are specific to the Galactica 1980 television series, and not to the Original Series from which it was spun-off, although there may be overlap from the Original Series into this listing.

This list also includes Earth terms that the Colonials have apparently never encountered before.

Earth terms

The following are Earth terms that the Colonials do not immediately understand, thus having to learn about them through experience or by using their wrist computron.

• A.M.: Troy mispronounces this as the word "am", which is corrected by the desk clerk (The Night the Cylons Landed, Part I).
• bigshot: after being called this at the police station for asking to speak to Dr. Donald Mortinson, Dillon asks what a bigshot is (Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I).
• chauvinist: Dillon is called both a terrorist and a chauvinist by Jamie Hamilton during their phone call from the police station; he asks Troy "what's a terrorist chauvinist?" (Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I)
• dollar: When Hamilton asks Troy and Dillon for a dollar, Dillon looks the term up and then replies "No, I'm sorry, but just used our last denomination of currency ourselves." (Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I).
• hijacking: Troy and Dillon look up this word after the desk clerk explains the reasons for the metal detectors. Unsurprisingly, a hijacking by Cuban nationals subsequently occurs on their flight (The Night the Cylons Landed, Part I).
• terrorist: Dillon is called both a terrorist and a chauvinist by Jamie Hamilton during their phone call from the police station; he asks Troy "what's a terrorist chauvinist?" (Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I)
• phone: Troy attempts to use a phone booth near a gas station prior to their first run-in with Jamie Hamilton (Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I).

Military

• Priority Red: High priority; Captain Kanon tells Britton to contact the Galactica with a Priority Red message regarding the A-B Raider (The Night the Cylons Landed, Part I)

Galactica 1980 specific terms

• ascension tube: elevator; Dillon refers to the elevators at the WQSL radio station building as these (The Night the Cylons Landed, Part II).
• automatic beacon: an electronic device that automatically transmits a distress signal (The Return of Starbuck).
• automatic detonator: a self destruct mechanism; such a mechanism is inside the A-B Raider and is activated by Andromus upon crash landing outside of New York City (The Night the Cylons Landed, Part I).
• breaking skip: a maneuver done in an atmosphere; three of these are used by the Cylon A-B Raider to reduce speed to ensure a non-fatal landing (The Night the Cylons Landed, Part I).
• chronic or cronic: a unit of temperature; 2000 degrees chronic would be the skin temperature of the A-B Raider at maximum upon entering Earth's atmosphere (The Night the Cylons Landed, Part I).
• computron: computer (Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I).
• force field: a safety device that restrains the Viper pilot in their seat (The Return of Starbuck).
• navigational computron: navigational computer; Adama says that coordinates to uninhabited landing zones on Earth are programmed in these (Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I).
• support vapors: air produced by a life support system (The Return of Starbuck).
• transmission band: Colonial equivalent to "television channel" (Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I).
• wrist computron: wrist computer, a device with a multitude of different capabilities (Galactica Discovers Earth, Part I).

Measurement

• agronloms or engronloms: unit of measurement in determining signal strength (The Night the Cylons Landed, Part II).
• metron: a unit equivalent to 1 hectometer