Writing Notes: Retronyms
Acoustic guitar - distinguished from electric guitar
Analog watch - distinguished from digital watch
Bar soap - distinguished from liquid soap, body wash
Brick-and-mortar - distinguished from online businesses
British English - distinguished from American English, Australian English, Indian English, etc.
Combustible cigarette - distinguished from electronic cigarette, e-cigarette, etc.
Corn on the cob - distinguished from corn cut from the cob
Film camera - distinguished from video camera, digital camera
Hot chocolate - distinguished from chocolate bars
Live music - distinguished from recorded music
Manual typewriter - distinguished from electric typewriter
Online - distinguished from offline
Organic food - a long time ago, all food was what we now consider "organic"
Outdoor rock climbing - distinguished from indoor rock climbing
Regular coffee - distinguished from decaffeinated coffee
Rotary phone - distinguished from touch-tone phone
Scripted show - distinguished from reality show
Silent film - distinguished from sound film, talkie
Slow food - distinguished from fast food
Whole milk - distinguished from skim milk, 2% milk, etc.
Retronym
A new term created from an existing word in order to distinguish it from the meaning that has emerged through progress or technological development.
Describes an original after a new version has shown up.
Can be objects (pedal bike), experiences (snow skiing), or even places (meatspace).
Example: Cloth diaper is a retronym necessitated by the fact that diaper now more commonly refers to a disposable diaper.
The oldest print usage that we know of for the word retronym itself is from William Safire's column "On Language" in a 1980 issue of The New York Times. There, he discusses how then-president of National Public Radio, Frank Mankiewicz, collects what he calls "retronyms."
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