retronym

2 definitions found

retronym - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  retronym
      n 1: a word introduced because an existing term has become
           inadequate; "Nobody ever heard of analog clocks until
           digital clocks became common, so `analog clock' is a
           retronym"

retronym - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  retronym
  
     <jargon> A term invented to distinguish a subclass of things
     from new members of the superclass, where the distinction was
     previously not necessary, since the old subclass had been all
     there was of the superclass.
  
     For example, the retronyms "snail mail" and "paper mail"
     were coined by those for who "mail" was likely to mean
     electronic mail.
  
     While the English language in general has a few retronyms
     ("whole milk", "snow skiing", "acoustic guitar"), hacker
     jargon is necessarily (at points capriciously) rich in
     retronyms, e.g. plaintext, natural language, impact printer
     , eyeball search, biological virus.
  
     [More examples?]
  
     (2001-02-25)