A retronym is a newer name for something that differentiates it from something else that is newer, similar, or seen in everyday life, thus avoiding confusion between the two. == Etymology == The term retronym, a neologism composed of the combining forms retro- (from Latin retro, "before") + -nym (from Greek ónoma, "name"), was coined by Frank Mankiewicz in 1980 and popularized by William Safire in The New York Times Magazine.
