retrograde
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd/
ipa: /ˈɹɛtɹəˌɡɹeɪd/
Forms: form: more retrograde
form: most retrograde
Etymology: The adjective is derived from Middle English retrograd, retrograde (“of a planet: appearing to move in a direction opposite to the order of the zodiac signs, retrograde; unfortunate”), from Middle French retrograde and Old French retrograde (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards; moving backwards; reverse; palindromic; opposed to change”) (modern French rétrograde), and from their etymon Latin retrōgradus (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards”) (compare Late Latin retrōgradus (“reverse; palindromic”)), from retrō (“back, backwards; behind; before, formerly”) + gradus (“pace, step”). By surface analysis, retro- + -grade.
The adverb and noun are derived from the adjective.
Senses: glosses: Directed or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travel; retreating.
glosses: Reverting to an inferior or less developed state; declining, regressing.
topics: biology
natural-sciences
zoology
glosses: Reverting to an inferior or less developed state; declining, regressing.
Of an animal: appearing to regress to a less developed form during its lifetime.
glosses: Of the order of something: inverse, reverse.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: Of the order of something: inverse, reverse.
Having a passage of music played backwards.
examples: text: retrograde ideas, morals, etc.
text: Such retrograde people still exist, resisting modernity, dragging their feet.
ref: 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 74:
text: […] in the form of the pussyfooted Alexis Smith. While referring to [Cole] Porter's 1946 film (alleged) biography, Night and Day, she mentions there were "certain aspects of the story which at that time they could not do." Was "certain aspects" a euphemism for gay? Smith's misplaced politeness here is truly retrograde.
ref: 1991 December 1, Rudy Grillo, “Who's The Top?”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 20, page 8:
synonyms: reactionary
traditionalist
antonyms: liberal
progressist
reformist
glosses: Of ideas or a person: opposing social reform, favouring the maintenance of the status quo; conservative.
glosses: Involving a return to or a retracing of a previous course of travel.
examples: text: In going back to school in Wittenberg, / It is most retrograde to our desire: / And we beseech you, bend you to remain
ref: c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
glosses: Counterproductive to a desired outcome; contradictory, contrary.
topics: astronomy
natural-sciences
antonyms: direct
prograde
glosses: Of a celestial body orbiting another: in the opposite direction to the orbited body's spin.
examples: text: Mercury retrograde
text: The inauspicious connotations of Mercury retrograde are actually quite old, evidenced in an ancient branch of astrology known as horary astrology.
ref: 2018 March 22, Wilder Davies, “Mercury Is Entering Retrograde Again. This Is Why So Many People Care”, in Time:
topics: astrology
astronomy
human-sciences
mysticism
natural-sciences
philosophy
sciences
glosses: Of a celestial body: seeming to move across the sky in the opposite direction from its ordinary movement.
topics: geography
geology
natural-sciences
antonyms: prograde
glosses: Of a metamorphic change: resulting from a decrease in pressure or temperature.
topics: medicine
sciences
glosses: Of amnesia: relating to the period leading up to the episode which caused it.
topics: communications
journalism
literature
media
poetry
publishing
writing
glosses: Of verse: reading the same forwards or backwards; palindromic.
Derived terms: retrograde amnesia
retrograde ejaculation
retrograde inversion
retrogradely
retrograde motion
retrogradeness
retrograde neurotransmitter
retrograde perfusion
Related terms: posigrade
retrogradation