Definition of "retronym" []

• 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. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Now that cordless drills have become so common, I notice an example of what you call a retronym: corded drills."
• "I’ve heard the term retronym used for neologisms that are coined to refit old words that have since become ambiguous."
• "The competition was to for the best "retronym" a term for an old object needing clarification."