retroware

ret·ro·ware
R1E1T1R1O1W4A1R1E1
UK/ˈɹɛt.ɹəʊˌwɛə/UK/-ˌwɛː/Canada, US/ˈɹɛt.ɹoʊˌwɛɹ/US/-ˌweɹ/

noun

Old software/hardware.

Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nounretroware (usually uncountable, plural (nonstandard) retrowares)

nonstandard plural retrowares

  1. informaluncountableusuallycomputingOld software/hardware.

    p.s. My source for the ESC/P2 are old retroware/retro-computing software and the data will be coming out of 8-bit system emulators.

    2005 February 27, David, “Input=ESC/P2; Output=tiff... Any drivers/software?”, in comp.periphs.printers (Usenet), retrieved 22 May 2025
    2 more examples

    Microsoft itself has shown only two games for Win 95: Fury3, a Descent-like flight sim, and Return of Arcade, another retroware disk.

    1995 June 28, Rob Pegoraro, “Behind the Screens”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 22 May 2025

    The March issue of Wired looks at retroware, the growing use of older computers, in an article by Mark Frauenfelder titled “Never Say Die”.

    2000 March 10, “Other voices”, in The Houston Chronicle

Origin

Blend of retro + software /hardware, or from retro- (“old-fashioned or old-school”) + -ware (“software”). First attested in 1995, but in common usage only as of the 21st century.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

retroware. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retroware

MLA

“retroware.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retroware. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “retroware,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retroware.

Source: retroware on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.