ceafinney > retronyms

Some retronyms in English

What is a retronym ?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines retronym as “A word or phrase created because an existing term that was once used alone needs to be distinguished from a term referring to a new development, as acoustic guitar in contrast to electric guitar or analog watch in contrast to digital watch.”

To submit a retronym or for other relevant comments, email me. Enjoy !

Some retronyms in English

Retronym ... Protonym
acoustic guitar ... electric guitar
analog clock ... digital clock
analog computer ... digital computer
black-and-white television ... color television
broadcast network ... cable network
Classic Coke ... real coke
conventional oven ... microwave oven
conventional weapons ... nuclear | biological | chemical weapons
conscious mind ... unconscious mind
day game ... night game
eyeball search ... computer search
hardback | hardcover book ... paperback book
horse polo ... water polo
human-readable information ... computer-readable | machine-readable
ice skates ... roller skates
impact printer ... laser | inkjet printer
manual transmission ... automatic transmission
manual typewriter ... electric typewriter
natural language ... machine language
natural turf ... artificial turf
normal matter ... dark matter
offline tournament ... on-line tournament (seen on KasparovChess.com)
open-nib pen ... hooded-nib pen
optical telescope ... radio telescope
pBook
(a.k.a. print | dead-tree edition)
... eBook
plain text ... machine | cypher text
propeller airplane ... jet airplane
regular coffee ... decaffeinated coffee
regular gas | petrol ... unleaded gas | petrol
silent movie ... talking movie
single-wide (trailer) ... double-wide (heard on National Public Radio (US) news 2003-07-06)
snail mail ... electronic mail
snow skiing ... water skiing
stage play ... radio play
straight razor ... safety razor
straight-up Martini ... all the various flavored types in different types of glasses
terrestrial television ... satellite television
two-parent family ... single-parent family
Type-I superconductor ... Type-II superconductor
whole milk ... skim milk
World War I ... World War II
??? web ... wireless web (suggested by Howard STRAUSS 2000-09-14)

Other retronyms in English

Another type of retronym is formed when a word is spelled backwards to produce a new word, often with negative connotations. This is also known as a reversal.