Information about Retronym

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, is no longer unique, or is otherwise inappropriate or misleading. 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 2000, the American Heritage Dictionary, 4th edition 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. World War I was called only the Great War until World War II. The advent of satellite radio has prompted the term terrestrial radio.

There is difficulty determining in many cases which is the retronyms and which is the non-retronym. Leaded petrol may seem to have been produced before unleaded petrol but in fact to start with all petrol was unleaded. Another example would be improvised comedy. Although all comedy to start with was improvised, when we think of comedy we usually think of scripted comedy.

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 — "The Great War" and "14-18 War" were commonly employed descriptions. 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).

Entertainment

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 (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 for all subsequent releases.

"Classic" is often applied to the first computer game in a franchise, especially if the sequels are numerically titled; examples include the Doom, Quake, and Unreal Tournament series. (Doom and Doom II, based on id Tech 1, are often collectively referred to as Classic Doom to distinguish from Doom 3, which uses id Tech 4.) Command & Conquer was frequently referred to as Tiberian Dawn after it's sequel Tiberian Sun was confirmed, and also because it lent its name to the series. This usage may be derived from what is itself a retronym, the relaunch of Coca-Cola as "Coca-Cola Classic" after the failure of what is now called the New Coke recipe change.

See also

• List of retronyms
• -onym
• backronym

External links

• http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/magazine/07wwln_safire.t.html On Language January 7, 2007 Retronym By WILLIAM SAFIRE