retro

See also: rétro, retrò, retrô, retro-, and rétro-

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French rétro, ultimately from Latin retro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛ.tɹoʊ/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛtɹoʊ

Adjective

retro (comparative more retro, superlative most retro)

1. Of, or relating to, the past, past times, or the way things were.
   • 2014 September 7, Natalie Angier, “The Moon comes around again [print version: Revisiting a moon that still has secrets to reveal: Supermoon revives interest in its violent origins and hidden face, International New York Times, 10 September 2014, p. 8]”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Scientists say that while the public may think of the moon as a problem solved and a bit retro – the place astronauts visited a half-dozen times way back before Watergate and then abandoned with a giant "meh" from mankind – in fact, lunar studies is a vibrant enterprise that is yielding a wealth of surprises.

2. Affecting things past; retroactive, ex post facto.

Translations

of, or relating to the past, past times, or the way things were

• Finnish: retro-, vanhanaikainen (fi), uusvanha
• French: rétro (fr)
• Polish: retro (pl)
• Portuguese: retrô (pt) c
• Russian: ре́тро- (rétro-), устаре́вший (ru) (ustarévšij), старомо́дный (ru) (staromódnyj)
• Swedish: retro (sv)

affecting things past; retroactive, ex post facto

• Finnish: takautuva, retroaktiivinen
• French: rétro (fr)

Noun

retro (countable and uncountable, plural retros or retroes)

1. (uncountable) Past fashions or trends.
2. (countable) Abbreviation of retrorocket.
3. (countable) Abbreviation of retrospective.
   • 1983, Sightlines (volumes 16-17, page 44)

     Richard Leacock's 1981 film portrait, Louise Brooks, was shown during a retro of Ms. Brooks's films at the Walker Art Center.

Translations

retrorocket — see retrorocket

See also

• (fashion, the past, trend, style): retro on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Torre

Finnish

Etymology

From English retro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈretro/, [ˈre̞t̪ro̞]
• Rhymes: -etro
• Syllabification^(key): ret‧ro

Noun

retro

1. retro style, retro

Declension

Inflection of retro (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)
nominative		retro	retrot
genitive		retron	retrojen
partitive		retroa	retroja
illative		retroon	retroihin
		singular	plural
nominative		retro	retrot
accusative	nom.	retro	retrot
	gen.	retron
genitive		retron	retrojen
partitive		retroa	retroja
inessive		retrossa	retroissa
elative		retrosta	retroista
illative		retroon	retroihin
adessive		retrolla	retroilla
ablative		retrolta	retroilta
allative		retrolle	retroille
essive		retrona	retroina
translative		retroksi	retroiksi
instructive		—	retroin
abessive		retrotta	retroitta
comitative		—	retroineen

Possessive forms of retro (type valo)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	retroni	retromme
2nd person	retrosi	retronne
3rd person	retronsa

Interlingua

Adverb

retro (not comparable)

1. back

Italian

Etymology

From Latin retro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈrɛ.tro/
• Rhymes: -ɛtro
• Syllabification: rè‧tro

Adverb

retro

1. behind

Noun

retro m (invariable)

1. back, rear, reverse

Anagrams

• Torre, terrò, torre

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *wretrō, probably taken from intrō and other similar adverbs.

Adverb

retrō (not comparable)

1. back, backwards, behind

   Vāde retrō, Satanā!

   Get thee behind me, Satan!

2. before, formerly

Derived terms

• *ad retrō
• dē retrō

Descendants

• Galician: redor
• Portuguese: redor
• Spanish: redor

References

• “retro”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “retro”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• retro in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• retro in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[2], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to back water: navem retro inhibere (Att. 13. 21)
    
• retro in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[3], pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French rétro, from Latin retrō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈrɛt.rɔ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛtrɔ
• Syllabification: ret‧ro

Adjective

retro (not comparable)

1. retro (of, or relating to the past, past times, or the way things were)

Derived terms

noun

• retrodigitalizacja

 

Further reading

• retro in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• retro in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

From French retro.

Adjective

retro m or f or n (indeclinable)

1. retro

Declension

Declension of retro (invariable)

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	retro		retro	retro	retro
	definite	—		—	—	—
genitive/ dative	indefinite	retro		retro	retro	retro
	definite	—		—	—	—

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin retro.

Adjective

retro (plural retros)

1. retro

Further reading

• “retro”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014