Standard Lemma guide

retronym

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɹəˈtɹəʊ.nɪm/
  • General-American: /ɹəˈtɹoʊ.nɪm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -əʊnɪm

1

noun

Meaning 1

A new word or phrase coined for an old object or concept whose original name has become used for something else or is no longer unique, or which did not originally have a specific name.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a word introduced because an existing term has become inadequate

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Nobody ever heard of analog clocks until digital clocks became common, so `analog clock' is a retronym

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: word

History

Etymology

From retro- + -onym; coined by Frank Mankiewicz and popularized by William Safire.

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: ретроним (retronim) — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Chinese Mandarin: 返璞詞 /返璞词 — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Danish: retronym — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Finnish: retronyymi — A new coinage for an old concept
  • French: rétronyme — A new coinage for an old concept
  • German: Retronym — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Greek: παλινώνυμο, αναβαπτιστής (palinónymo, anavaptistís) — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Icelandic: afturvirkt orð — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Italian: retronimo — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Japanese: 再命名 (saimeimei) — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Japanese: レトロニム (retoronimu) — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Norwegian Bokmål: retronym — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: retronym — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Polish: retronim — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Portuguese: retrónimo — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Portuguese: retrônimo — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Russian: ретро́ним (retrónim) — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Spanish: retrónimo — A new coinage for an old concept
  • Swedish: retronym — A new coinage for an old concept