[This post was triggered by a fun discussion in the comments on the post Is ‘Wireless’ Anemic or Merely Retrospective?] When the term "electric guitar" became nearly as popular as the original unmodified word "guitar", the term "acoustic guitar" emerged because "guitar" (unmodified) was considered ambiguous. "Acoustic guitar" is labeled the retronym. What is "electric [...]
Entries Categorized as 'language'
What does one call the term that causes the emergence of a complementary retronym?
by Nick Gall | October 18, 2008 | 12 Comments
