Retro Means Backwards, and Retro Style Looks Back
Retro describes styles imitating the recent past. The Latin prefix simply means backward, and it turns up in many words.
Retro describes clothing, design or music that deliberately imitates an earlier style. It is the Latin prefix *retro*, backward, promoted to a word in its own right — a rare career for a prefix, shared by *ex*, *pro* and *anti*. French *rétro* popularised the fashion sense in the 1970s. Note the distinction: *retro* imitates the past deliberately, *vintage* is actually old, and *antique* is old enough to have value from its age alone.
- Imitating the past. *A retro design.*
- Retrospective — looking back. *A retrospective.*
- Retrograde — moving backward. *Retrograde motion.*
- Vintage — genuinely old. *Vintage clothing.*
- Latin — *retro*, backward. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | retro | Retro style. |
| Noun | retro | Pure retro. |
| Prefix | retro- | Retrofit. |
| Related | retrospect | In retrospect. |
| Latin | retro | Backward. |
- The bar has a retro look.Design.
- In retrospect it was obvious.Related word.
- Mars appears to move retrograde.Astronomy.
The retro- family
- Retrospect — a look back
- Retrograde — moving backward, or worsening
- Retrofit — to add new parts to an older thing
- Retroactive — applying to a period already past
- Retrospective — an exhibition covering an artist's whole career
Latin *retro*, backward or behind. The style sense comes from French *rétro*, itself short for *rétrograde*.
What is the difference between retro and vintage?
Retro is new work imitating an old style; vintage is genuinely from the period it looks like.
What does retroactive mean?
Taking effect from a date already past, so that it applies to things that have already happened.