A retronym is a newer name for an existing subject, that differentiates the original form or version from a subsequent one. Retronyms are typically used as a self-explanatory adjective for a subject. Retronyms are introduced to differentiate the already existing things from the newer ones.
Retronymic adjectives Analog Describes non-digital electronic devices that deal with analog signals, devices (electronic or otherwise) that display a readout analogously (i.e., clocks, gauges), or more colloquially, non-electronic means of accomplishing a task: Analog clock: Before digital clocks, most clocks had faces and hands. See also: Analog watch. Analog drawing: Drawing with conventional tools on a paper or canvas, as opposed to drawing on a computer using a software. Analog photography Analog video Analog synthesizer: Before synthesizers contained microchips, every stage of the internal electronic signal flow was analogous to a sound that would eventually be produced at the output stage, and this sound was shaped and altered as it passed through each filter and envelope. Analog watch: Before the advent of the digital watch, all watches had faces and hands. After the advent of the digital watch, watches with faces and hands became known as analog watches. Analog recording Conventional, classic, or traditional Describes devices or methods that have been largely replaced or significantly supplemented by new ones. For example, conventional (non-microwave) oven, or conventional weapon (one which does not incorporate chemical, biological or nuclear payloads). Classic Doctor Who: Used to distinguish the original series of the classic show from the 21st century sequel, New Doctor Who. This retronym is used by the BBC when both of these shows air. Classic Leave It to Beaver: Used to distinguish the original series of the classic sitcom from the 1980s sequel, The New Leave It To Beaver. This retronym was used by TBS when both of these shows aired. Classic Top Gear: Used to distinguish the original series of the classic program from the 2002 revival, New Top Gear. This retronym is used by the BBC when both of these shows air. Conventional airplane: In the late 1940s and early 1950s, this term was used to distinguish piston-engined aircraft from the new jet types. Conventional landing gear: Term used to distinguish the traditional landing gear arrangement of two main wheels and a tail wheel (also referred to as the "tail-dragger" type) from the newer tricycle landing gear (two main wheels and a nose wheel). Conventional memory: term coined when MS-DOS and other operating systems for the IBM PC and other IBM-like x86 machines went over the 640k memory limit with tricks to access extra memory with different code to address it. iPod classic : Suffix added from its 6th generation. Referring to the original iPod model that still used a hard drive as opposed to the flash-based iPod shuffle and iPod nano, and a click wheel as opposed to the touch screen-based iPod touch. Conventional oven: Before the development of the microwave oven, this term was not used. Now it is commonly found in cooking instructions for prepared foods. Sometimes, the term is used to distinguish a conventional gas or electric oven from a convection oven. Conventional war: Before the development of nuclear weapons, this term was not used. (War, Gwynne Dyer) Traditional braces: Used to refer to braces that are metal and crafted by hand, as opposed to Invisalign, and other new technologies. Traditional Chinese characters: Used to contrast with Simplified Chinese characters. Traditional animation: With the rise of computer animation, hand-drawn, cel-based (or "2D") animation is now referred to as this. Civilian Used to refer to items that are not of military quality or for military use, to differentiate them from the military version. First, I, 1, 1.0, part 1, version 1, Senior, the Elder, etc. Used when there is a second, third, fourth, etc. version/incarnation of something. This is not a retronym if it is used from the start in the anticipation of subsequent versions. When a dynastic ruler has or adopts the same name as a predecessor, the original is often retrospectively given the Roman numeral I if he did not already use one in his lifetime. For example, the Dutch prince William I of Orange was just William during his lifetime. On the other hand, e.g. emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria was so entitled even though there were no subsequent emperors of that name. In the United States, names (typically of males) may also follow this convention, or the father may be given the suffix Senior (Sr.), with Junior (Jr.) for the son; Roman numerals would be used if the name is repeated again. In some cases, such as US President George Bush, NASCAR racing driver Dale Earnhardt and Major League Baseball player Ken Griffey, well-known people have become retroactively referred to as "Senior" after namesake sons rose to prominence in their own right. Also sometimes used to refer to the first incarnation of a movie, video game, etc. after sequels have been created, although such works are seldom renamed in this way officially. When Sony released the PlayStation 2, a redesigned version of the original PlayStation was also released under the name PSone. However, the word "One" doesn't always refer to version 1 of a product, such as in Xbox One. Freebase nicotine The liquid, if containing nicotine, that is vaporised by electronic cigarettes with regular use. Nicotine strength levels would typically be measured and sold in mg/ml. This term would not be in regular use, and would therefore not become a retronym until liquid containing nicotine salts, sold in strength levels as a percentage composition, had entered the market. Manual Used to distinguish from automatic or electric versions. Manual transmissions in vehicles were just called "transmissions" until the invention of automatic transmissions. Sometimes they are called "standard" transmissions, but that adjective has become a misnomer in the United States since automatic transmissions have become the standard feature for most models today. Manual typewriters were likewise just called "typewriters" until the invention of electric typewriters. Natural Use to distinguish from artificial versions. Natural dyes like woad, indigo, saffron and madder were simply "dyes" until synthetic dyes were developed in the mid-19th century. Natural gums were just "gums" until synthetic gums were invented. Natural languages are those which evolved naturally in humans through use and repetition without conscious planning or premeditation, as opposed to recently developed constructed languages and formal languages. Natural ropes or plant ropes, such as those made from hemp or sisal, were just "ropes" until ropes made of synthetic materials became common. Natural satellites were just called "satellites" until the launch of Sputnik 1. Nowadays, the term satellite is far more often used to refer to communications satellites. Natural skin care involves the use of topical creams and lotions made of ingredients available in nature; all skin care was natural until synthetic cosmetics were invented. Natural sponge: all sponges were natural (either made from Luffa aegyptiaca or animal sponges) until polyester and polyurethane sponges came on the market in the mid-20th century. Natural rubber or India rubber was simply called "rubber" until synthetic rubber was invented in 1909. Old Naturally used when there is officially a "new" version of anything, to refer to the previous version. For example, when British money was decimalized and the new penny of 1/100 pound was adopted, the previous penny of 1/240 pound became known as the old penny. Old-fashioned refers to any practice which is no longer customary, e.g. in the context of dress sense, hairstyle or wording, as opposed to (the) fashion, which refers to anything which is at present customary. In popular music and the wider popular culture, the term old school (originally only used in hip-hop, but now in many other genres) has developed a similar meaning, and this has spread to other areas as well. Offline Computer users will sometimes agree to meet offline, i.e. face to face in the real world, as opposed to online in an Internet-based chat room or other such means of electronic communication. Before the Internet became widely used, this was of course the only way to "meet" someone and the term to meet offline was unheard of. Stephen Colbert, on his 4 February 2016 broadcast of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, remarked on the strangeness of so-called "offline shopping", regarding Amazon.com's retail bookstore endeavor. Real Often used in a derogatory manner to signify that the original product is the "real" product, as if the new alternative is "fake". For example, "Real instruments" for instruments other than the synth; "Real car" for a fuel-burning car, as opposed to an electric car. Regular or plain Used to refer to an original product after new versions are released. For example, one could formerly just ask for a Pepsi. But with the advent of multiple versions like Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Max, one might ask for a regular Pepsi when one wants the original drink. Similarly, regular Oreo cookies were called that after Double Stuf Oreos and other varieties were released. Another example is that in the United States regular gasoline (petrol or petroleum spirit outside the U.S.) has now come to mean 87 octane-rated unleaded (ratings in other countries vary). In the United States almost all gasoline had tetraethyl lead additive and was sold as either regular gasoline (octane rating of 89) or high test (octane ratings of 91 or higher) until leaded petrol was phased out starting in the late 1970s; all new cars made since 1975 have catalytic converters. Plain M&M's: Plain M&M's candies (now Milk Chocolate) would not have been called that until 1954, when Peanut M&M's were introduced. Plain old telephone service (POTS): The term refers to the telephone service still available after the advent of more advanced forms of telephony, such as ISDN, mobile phones, and VoIP Plain text: Before word processing programs for computers with functions such as support for multiple fonts, underlining, bold/italic and other function came along, text files were simply just known as text. "Plain text" is also used in contrast to ciphered text. Regular cab pickup truck (also called single cab) used when extended and crew/double cabs became widely available. Regular coffee: The development of decaffeinated coffee led to this coinage. Regular / Normal cigarette : A tobacco cigarette. Before electronic cigarettes became popular, all commercially available cigarettes were tobacco cigarettes. Along the same lines, the smoking of traditional cigarettes is sometimes referred to as "traditional smoking" in order to distinguish it from vaping, which could also be considered a form of smoking. Tabletop Used to describe the original version of a board game or role-playing game once a video game version has been released. Tabletop can also refer to non-digital games in general in order to contrast them from video games. Vanilla Used to describe an unaltered, plain version of an item, often in reference to software. For example, in computer games with expansion packs, it is used to distinguish the original version from subsequent versions, especially when the original game does not have a subtitle. For example, World of Warcraft could refer to either the original game or one of the expansion packs, so users may refer to the original as "vanilla" to distinguish it from the subsequent versions.