Retronym
A retronym is a subsequent renaming . Often this is used to distinguish something familiar from a new variant.
The term goes back to the American journalist Frank Mankiewicz in the 1970s and was popularized by William Safire .
Examples
- Acoustic guitar
- Before the invention of the electric guitar , all guitars were provided with a wooden acoustic resonator. Similar: acoustic piano .
- Analog clock
- Before the advent of the digital clock , all mechanical clocks were (analog) clocks with hands.
- Byzantine Empire
- The Byzantines called themselves the Roman Empire . Montesquieu denied the Christianized Eastern Stream the honorary title of Roman for moral reasons .
- First International
- Name for the International Workers' Association introduced after the founding of the Second International .
- First World War
- Originally World War or Great War (engl. The Great War ). Emerged after World War II to distinguish.
- landline
- With the advent of mobile communications for the conventional, wired telephone network.
- Mainframe
- Until the advent of home and desktop (“desk”) computers, computers were too bulky to fit on a desk, but often filled the room. After the advent of compact computer units, for which the term "computer" became established, the old computers were called "mainframes" to distinguish them.
- Manual placement
- until the invention of automatic switching .
- Hard disk
- Up until the advent of the flexible floppy disk , all floppy disks were "hard" (made of solid magnetic material).
- Cold water supply
- With the development of the water heater.
- Conventional warfare
- With the advent of nuclear warfare and weapons of mass destruction for warfare using propellant weapons .
- Latin America
- With the connection of the word America with the USA , the expression Latin America describes the Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries of America .
- Meetspace
- (Eng.), real world , natural reality to distinguish it from cyberspace .
- middle Ages
- (Latin: medium aevum ) retrospectively for the period 600 - 1500 . Epoch designation from Renaissance humanism
- Natural language
- Human language , to distinguish between programming language and artificial language ; also human language .
- Sheet film
- Before the advent of roll film, it was known as "film" - to distinguish it from the (glass) plate.
- Pré Cinéma
- Use of stylistic devices typical for films in 19th century literature, i.e. before the advent of cinematography.
- Parallel ATA (PATA)
- The original ATA interface was parallel; the distinction became necessary with the introduction of Serial ATA .
- Black and white television
- Once a simple television , today a retro name to distinguish it from color television, similar to radio (previously radio; Ggs. Television radio) or silent film .
- Weimar Republic
- The official name was the German Empire , as it was in the days of the German Empire .
- Whiter
- for people of European descent with the appearance of the word negro , black or colored
Retronymous adjectives
- old
- Used with the announcement or the advent of a new version of something designed to replace the previous one.
- analogous
- Designation for non- digital devices: analog clock , analog recording , analog telephone .
- homemade , historic , conventional , classic or traditional
- Describes devices or methods that have become widely established or that differ from new developments. z. B. traditional (no microwave) stove . see also: Historische Wurstkuchl
- original , genuine , original
- To distinguish it from a revised new variant.
- I. , Senior , the elder
- If a head of the family gives his name to the successor, the namesake is often given retro-anonymously with the ordinal number I. ( Friedrich Wilhelm I. ).
- Part I or 1 , also version 1 etc.
- Sometimes for a film etc. after a second part has been produced as a sequel.
- terrestrial
- (Radio transmission) (from earth) : to distinguish it from satellite radio that was developed later
Names of the dead , posthumously given to kings in East Asian cultures, can also be viewed as retronyms.
When reproducing historical or technical representations, correct handling of retro names ensures clarity and prevents misunderstandings.
See also