a retronym is a word that is created because of a change in something else... for example:
an acoustic guitar...it was a guitar until the advent of the electric guitar...
george h.w. bush ... who used to just be george bush until dubya
standard transmission (thanks shannon)
rotary phone
dial up internet
print journalist
coke classic
silent movie
propeller airplane
whole milk
i'm trying to find one that's just one word...i think "mustang" for a wild horse, but shannon says it's a breed of horse unique to the american plains...
so, help me find another
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8 comments:
great post.
how about grandfather clock and analog watch.
One i use is "Audio CD", as opposed to a data or mp3 CD. That's pretty technical though.
It's not one word, but some people use the term "land line" to mean a non-cell phone.
A similar idea is words like "dial" as in "dial a phone number" which have kept their meaning despite things changing.
Hmmm, does railroad count as a one-worder?
i don't think so. roads existed before railroads. and i think "railroad" was coined at the time of its creation.
perhaps "civilian" ... prior the military, everyone was a civilian
another one word retronym:
feral: not domesticated
Biological parent.
Real life(before there was fake life)
nice ones...
does jumpdrive count as one word?
i think it's two words ... the compound word appears to be a brand name
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