Etymology

retcon

R1E1T1C3O1N1

Today it means: A fictional setting in which a new storyline explains or changes a previous event or attaches a new significance to it. Full definition →

Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

A blend of retroactive + continuity. The term retroactive continuity was popularized by comics writer Roy Thomas, who was known for writing superhero comic books set decades in the past, such as All-Star Squadron, and attributes it to an anonymous source.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.