Meanings
- uncountableThe process of creating retronyms; coining new words for existing concepts because the meaning of the original word has broadened.
Much retronymy is driven by advances in technology.
2012, e-Study Guide for: Integrated Business Communication, →ISBN2 more examples
Of special interest to terminologists is retronymy, which consists of renaming an existing concept more precisely in order to adjust to a conceptual shift, as will be illustrated below.
2013, Peter Bachmann, Michael Köhl, Risto Päivinen, Assessment of Biodiversity for Improved Forest Planning, →ISBNWhat they describe is the well-known phenomenon of retronymy (see, for instance, Ahmad & Collingham 1996). Whatever such consequential terminological changes are called, this understanding of 'gap' is system-related.
2015, M. Rogers, Specialised Translation: Shedding the 'Non-Literary' Tag, →ISBN
Origin
Translations
French rétronymie
- rétronymieTranslations
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with retronymy
Cite this entry
retronymy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retronymy
“retronymy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retronymy. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “retronymy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retronymy.
Source: retronymy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.