According to 10 Words Coined in the Sci-Fi Universe,
"
Droid, or a robot in human-like form, is a shortened form of
android which was used as early as the 1700s.
Droid was first published in the 1950s in magazines like
If that printed sci-fi short stories. The 1977 film franchise
Star Wars brought
droid into mainstream usage. Lucasfilms Ltd., the production company that gave the world these beloved sci-fi films, has even registered
droid as a trademark, which has led to legal debate on the use of the term following the introduction of
Droid smartphones."