Retronymic Tea

A retronym is a term consisting of a noun and a modifier which specifies the original meaning of the noun.

Examples include: black and white television, acoustic guitar, cloth diaper, and bar soap.

Top Ten Librarian Retronyms

I just came across a list of retronyms for non-internet librarians from an Information Today contest.

Here are the top ten submissions:

10. Shelf pointer librarian

9. Analog librarian

8. Legacy librarian

7. Librarian unplugged

6. 3x5 librarian

5. Internot librarian
4. Retrobrarian

3. (Insert the name of your supervisor here) librarian

2. Wallenda librarian (flying high without the net)

1. Librarian 1.0

E-mail, Snail Mail and Kid Mail

Ponderings on the different types of mail systems that are in use today and how the idea of what defines mail and a mail system have evolved.

Mail:
1. Materials, such as letters and packages, handled by the postal system.
2. A system by which letters, packages, and other postal materials are transported.

E-Mail (technology inspired, abbreviation for electronic mail):
1. A system for sending and receiving messages electronically over a computer network, as between personal computers.
2. A message or messages sent or received by such a system.

Snail Mail (a technology inspired retronym):
1. Conventional post, as opposed to e-mail.
2. The conventional postal system.

Kid Mail (obviously not inspired by technology but more likely by economy):
A folder system of relaying daily paper notices to parents/staff. (schools.lwsd.org/Discovery/glossary.htm)

In southeast Michigan kid mail is very common and is even used by parents to send notes to other parents through their kids; however, kid mail must be a regional concept as I was hard pressed to find the above definition.

Where does the evolution of mail leave pen pals? Should e-mail pals be called keyboard pals? Or have text messages, instant messages and chat rooms taken over?

New Retronyms Appearing on a Regular Basis

I recently came across a word I had not previously heard of : retronym. With my linguistics background and the everyday familiarity of synonyms, homonyms, and antonyms, I was surprised that I had never heard this word.

A retronym is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a term consisting of a noun and a modifier which specifies the original meaning of the noun."

Answers.com adds a bit more detail to their definition by explaining that a retronym is "a word or phrase created because an existing term that was once used alone needs to be distinguished from a term referring to a new development, as acoustic guitar in contrast to electric guitar or analog watch in contrast to digital watch."

In addition to the guitar and watch examples here are some more retronyms to think about:

AM Radio
Bar Soap
Biological parent
Black-and-white television
Brick-and-mortar store, high street shop
Broadcast television
George H.W. Bush
Classical Music
Cloth diaper
Conventional War
Desktop computer
Field hockey
Forward slash
Hard disk
Hardback Book
Land Line
Manual transmission
Natural language
Orthodox Judaism
hard copy
Prop plane
Push lawnmower
Real numbers
Rotary telephone
Scalar processors
Sit-down restaurant
Snail mail
Snow skiing
Static electricity
Turn based strategy
Vinyl record
Whole milk

I guess we have technology to thank for retronymy.