Meaning of retronymy | Babel Free

Definitions

The process of creating retronyms; coining new words for existing concepts because the meaning of the original word has broadened.

uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“Much retronymy is driven by advances in technology.”

“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.”

“What 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.”

CEFR level