retronym
noun
: a newly created term used to distinguish the original or older version, form, or example of something from other, more recent versions, forms, or examples (e.g., "brick-and-mortar stores").
''Nowadays we need such distinctions as free-range chickens,* birth mother, natural blonde, ... and manual toothbrushes. The faster we advance, the more retronyms we enlist." -- David Astle, Sydney (Australia) Morning Herald, November 1, 2014
*My wife and I were driving through a desolate part of Texas last summer when we saw a three-legged chicken running alongside the road. The chicken was nearly pacing us and we were doing 45 mph on the dirt road. Intrigued, we followed the chicken to a farmhouse set back from the road about a half a mile, and saw an old man sitting on the covered porch in a rocking chair. We asked him if that was his chicken we saw running down the road so fast and he replied, "Yup. I love chicken legs so I bred some three-legged chickens so I'd have some extras." When we asked him how they tasted, he said, "I don't know. I've never been able to catch one." |
