Retronym facts for kids

A retronym is a new name for something that already exists. This new name helps people tell the older thing apart from a newer, similar thing. Think of it as giving an "original" item a special name once a "new version" comes along.

For example, before electric guitars were invented, people just called the regular stringed instruments "guitars". But once electric guitars became popular, people needed a way to talk about the older type. So, the name "acoustic guitar" was created. "Acoustic guitar" is a retronym because it's a new name for something that was already there, just to make it clear it's not the electric kind.

Why Do We Need Retronyms?

Retronyms help us avoid confusion. When technology or new ideas come along, they often share a basic name with older things. To be clear, we add a descriptive word to the original item. This makes sure everyone knows exactly what we are talking about.

Examples of Retronyms

Retronyms pop up in many places, from music to movies and even in everyday language.

Music and Movies

• Acoustic Guitar: As mentioned, this name was made to tell it apart from the electric guitar. Before electric guitars, it was just called a "guitar."
• Original Star Wars: The first Star Wars movie came out in 1977. It was simply called Star Wars. But after the second movie, The Empire Strikes Back, was released in 1980, the first movie was renamed Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981. This new name helped people understand it was the first part of a bigger story.

Everyday Words

• Analog Watch: Before digital watches with numbers on a screen, all watches had hands that moved around a dial. Once digital watches appeared, the older style became known as an "analog watch."
• Landline Phone: When mobile phones became common, the traditional phones connected by a wire to the wall became known as "landline phones." Before that, they were just "phones."
• Black and White Television: When color televisions were invented, the older TVs that only showed shades of gray became known as "black and white televisions."

Retronyms show how language changes and adapts as the world around us changes. They help us keep our communication clear and easy to understand.

Images for kids

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  This column about "trucks and cars" from Popular Mechanics in 1914 was written when the word truck did not necessarily connote a motor truck and the word car did not necessarily connote a motor car. The same topics today would most likely be talked about with the terms hand trucks and railroad cars. Those terms existed in 1914 as well, but they were not required for clarity, as they would be today.

See also

In Spanish: Retrónimo para niños