intfiction.org

Great words, all of them -- except I'm not sure how much the word "Venerean" makes native speakers of English think of "venereal", as in "venereal disease"? That would be unfortunate, so please chime in.

(Apparently, I have "Cytherean" as a backup option. "Venusian" is too ugly.)

I'm not a native speaker, but my English Sprachgefühl is immaculate.

You might as well argue that "Jovian" befuddles the semi-literate who in their ignorance confuse it with "jovial." Unless you write for idiots (but why would you?), there is nothing wrong with "Venerean."

Also, there is nothing ugly about "Venusian."

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When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.

Go for "Cytherean" -- "Venerean" definitely makes me think of "venereal" (and of course they're basically the same word), and if I wanted to say "of or pertaining to Venus" then I would definitely use "Venusian."

I suppose "Lunar" makes you think of lunacy.

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When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.

Not being a native speaker, can I still chime in? "Venerean" alone might make me think of "venereal", but in the context you present it, Venus is all that comes to mind. "Cytherean" sounds slightly more mystical. Dunno if that's a good thing.

"Venerean" makes that part of my brain jump straight to venereal. It would probably be something I could lose after reading it enough, but if you want to avoid that response completely, I think Cytherean is a better choice. (Although, I have a good sense of what the others relate to - I had to look up the Cytherea reference.)

Echoing what the others said about "venerean." I will say that "martian" also got a chuckle, to my embarrassment.

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~Björn Paulsen

Nope!

Hm, it looks like "Cytherean" may have its own problems.

I think I can live with that.