Retronym

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A retronym is a type of neologism coined for an old object or concept whose original name has come to be used for something else or is no longer unique. The term was coined by Frank Mankiewicz [1] and popularized by William Safire [2] in 1980 in the New York Times. Many of these are created by advances in technology. However, a retronym itself is a neological word coinage consisting of the original noun with a different adjective added, which emphasises the distinction to be made from the original form.

In 2003, the American Heritage Dictionary was the first major dictionary to include the word retronym.[3]

Examples of retronyms are acoustic guitar (coined when electric guitars appeared), or Parallel ATA (necessitated by the introduction of Serial ATA) as a term for the original Advanced Technology Attachment.

Posthumous names awarded in East Asian cultures to royalty after their death can be considered retronyms too, although their birth names will remain unambiguous.

Careless use of retronyms in historical fiction can cause anachronisms. For example, referring to the "First World War" in a piece set in 1935 would be incorrect — it was known then as the "Great War". Anachronistic use of a retronym could also betray a modern document forgery (such as a description of the First Battle of Bull Run before the second had taken place).

In entertainment media, a retronym can be applied to a property that becomes a franchise and requires the source property to be differentiated from others in the franchise. One example is the original Star Trek television series, which in modern times is referred to as Star Trek: The Original Series (abbreviated as ST:TOS) to identify it among the many film and television sequels that Star Trek has spawned. Another is the first Star Wars movie to be filmed and released, originally titled simply Star Wars; after the film (and its sequels) became a smash success and prequels were assured, the film was sub-titled Episode IV: A New Hope for all subsequent releases.