History Main / Retronym

* CRT[[note]]Cathode Ray Tube[[/note]] computer monitors were simply "monitors" until LCD monitors became widespread. Likewise, CRT televisions were just called "televisions" before flatscreen [=TVs=] came out.

* ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' (''Mother 2'') was the first game in the ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series to get an American release, although a prototype for an unreleased localization of the original ''Mother'' eventually surfaced titled "Earth Bound" (note the space). When said prototype was eventually released as a ROM image online, some fans created hack that changed the title to ''[=EarthBound=] Zero''. It was eventually released as ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'' on the Platform/WiiU Platform/VirtualConsole (with the title screen just saying "Earth Bound").

* The first ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' game for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy was not a port of the NES original, but an entirely new game. When the NES game was later ported to the Game Boy, it was retitled ''Battletoads in Ragnarok's World''.

* ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' (''Mother 2'') was the first game in the ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series to get an American release, although a prototype for an unreleased localization of the original ''Mother'' eventually surfaced titled "Earth Bound" (note the space). When said prototype was eventually released as a ROM image online, some fans created hack that changed the title to ''[=EarthBound=] Zero''. It was eventually released as ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'' on the UsefulNotes/WiiU UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole (with the title screen just saying "Earth Bound").

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyAdventure'' was remade for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance under the title ''VideoGame/SwordOfMana'' in order to fit with the other ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'' games. Over a decade after that, it received ''another'' UpdatedRerelease on iOS, Android and UsefulNotes/PlayStationVita, this time bearing the title ''Adventures of Mana''.

* Creator/{{Atari}}'s [[UsefulNotes/Atari2600 very first console]] was originally sold as the Atari Video Computer System or VCS. It was only after they launched their succeeding console, the Platform/Atari5200, that they rebranded their original platform as the Atari 2600 (based on the product code they used for the console, CX-2600).
* Similarly, the first version of the UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} was only retroactively called the Amiga 1000 following the release of the Amiga 500 (a cut down version aimed for home use) and the Amiga 2000 (a more upgradable model aimed at serious users). Future model numbers got a bit more confusing.
* An inversion: the original UsefulNotes/PlayStation was once commonly referred by the print media as the PSX, a holdover from its development days back when it was called the "[=PlayStation=] [=eXperiment=]". Sony later used the PSX name for a Japan-only DVR device that also played original [=PlayStation=] and UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 games, much to the confusion of people who still used the PSX abbreviation when referring to the original [=PlayStation=], which is nowadays commonly referred to as the [=PS1=] (or just [=PS=] in official Sony documentations) (a name which would have been confusing during the [=PS2=] era due to the UpdatedRerelease of the first console, called "[=PS one=]").

* The Capcom games ''Commando'' and ''Mercs'' were re-released on the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} Virtual Console under the "Wolf of the Battlefield" branding, a literal translation of the two games' Japanese title ''Senjō no Ōkami'', although the actual games don't use this title.

* The 1995 UsefulNotes/PlayStation game ''ESPN Extreme Games'' was retitled ''1Xtreme'' for its Greatest Hits re-release, both to bring it in line with its sequel ''2Xtreme'' and because the Creator/{{ESPN}} license had expired. The game continued to be sold under its original title in Europe, however.

* The UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 and Windows remake of ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' was retitled ''The Last Of Us Part I'' to bring it in line with ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII''.

* ''VideoGame/Pikmin2001'' was formally retitled ''Pikmin 1'' when it received an UpdatedRerelease on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch alongside its sequel.

* The first ''Franchise/StarWars'' film was originally known as just ''Star Wars''; the subtitle ''Episode IV: Film/ANewHope'' was [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion inserted into prints]] for the 1981 re-release (the first after ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''). Even afterwards, the film was marketed as simply ''Star Wars'' (and its two sequels solely by their subtitles, ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'') until the release of the Prequel Trilogy. Even the 1997 [[GeorgeLucasAlteredVersion Special Editions]] retained the old style.
** Before the release of the Prequel Trilogy, the Original Trilogy was known simply as the ''Star Wars Trilogy''.

[[folder:Literature]]
* In-universe example: it is a plot point in one ''Literature/EncyclopediaBrown'' mystery that [[ConvictionByContradiction the First Battle of Bull Run would not have been called such until after the second]].
* In-universe inversion: in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', reigning monarchs in Westeros not named after an ancestor are optimistically styled "the First of His Name" (as in, "King Robert Baratheon, the First of His Name") under the assumption that their dynasty will both continue to rule and name future monarchs after them. [[spoiler: It's not looking good for either Robert or his "sons", Kings Joffrey and Tommen of the Houses Lannister and Baratheon, the First of Their Respective Names, to be commemorated this way.]]
* ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'' has Rico's narration call military sailors on the ocean "wet navy", to disambiguate them from the [[SpaceIsAnOcean Space Navy]] that operates the starships; other SF authors have used this as well. No term is established for what ordinary ground soldiers are called to separate them from [[PoweredArmor mobile infantry]]. "Sitting ducks" comes to mind.
* ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
** The first series was called simply ''Warriors'' (or ''Warrior Cats'', depending on where you live). After several other subseries came out, all under the same series name (e.g. "Warriors: The New Prophecy"), fans started calling the first series "The Original Series" or "The First Arc". It was later officially rebranded as ''The Prophecies Begin'', though the fan-nicknames are used just as often.
** The manga trilogy featuring Graystripe originally didn't have a trilogy name (such as "Ravenpaw's Path", etc) like the others - the volumes were just titled "Warriors: The Lost Warrior" and so forth, which caused a lot of confusion. The boxed set of the three, and later the full-color re-release, named the trilogy ''Graystripe's Adventure''.

[[folder:Toys]]
* When Hasbro created the ''ComicBook/TransformersGeneration2'' line in 1993, fans started to refer to pre-1993 era as ''[[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Generation 1]]''. Eventually, Hasbro began to use it as an official name as well.
* The original Toa from ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' were called just that (since they were known as the only ones at the time, both in-universe and out), but after several doses of UniquenessDecay, they were the only major group of Toa not to have had a team name of their own. [[FanNickname Fans have been calling them "Toa Olda" or "Toa Mata" for years]], and in 2007, the latter of those became canon.

[[folder:Real Life]]
[[AC:Art and Humanities]]
* Digital art and traditional art.
* Acoustic instruments, only called such after the corresponding electric instrument (guitar, bass, violin etc.) was invented.
* Describing an album as being available "on vinyl" came into use when [=CDs=] became the mainstream music medium. Since digital downloading and streaming has became commonplace, albums can also have a "physical (media) release", as opposed to being digital-only. The same is true of home video, VHS and DVD, and physical vs. streaming video.
* Analogue clocks and digital clocks.

[[AC:Fashion]]
* Before the introduction of mini skirts, everything knee-length or below were simply called skirts. Now hemlines below mini skirts are called midi- or maxi skirts.

[[AC:Foodstuff]]
* Any food with "original flavor" included on the label.
* After the failure of New Coke, the original soft drink was brought back as "Coca-Cola Classic".
* Black Licorice. Traditional licorice candy got its name and flavour from the root of the licorice plant. The introduction of other licorice "flavours" have led to traditional licorice being known as black licorice due to its color. While these other flavours, such as red licorice, are manufactured in a similar manner to black licorice, they are flavored differently and have nothing to do with the licorice plant.

[[AC:History]]
* UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars - known as 'The Great War' in its own time, that title was taken by UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.
* UsefulNotes/WorldWarI was known as "The Great War", "The World War", or "The War to End All War" until [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the sequel]] came out. Perhaps ironically, it was still occasionally called "The First World War" before the second world war happened, because it was truly the first war of its like in history at that time, not because anyone was sure there'd be a second. (Though given what Ferdinand Foch and a number of people said about the Treaty of Versailles, at least a few people were sure there would be a second.)
* Monarchs and popes who are the first to use their given name aren't referred to as "the first" during their reign and don't receive a regnal number until another monarch takes up the same name as "the second." Elizabeth I of England, for instance, was simply Elizabeth until 1952 when Elizabeth II acceded the throne. Among English and British monarchs, Stephen, John, Anne and Victoria still have no regnal number.[[note]]Nor do Lady Jane Grey (who signed some documents using Jane as her regnal name) and Matilda, whose reigns were disputed, and Philip of Spain (husband of Mary I), who is regarded by historians as more of a glorified consort than a monarch, so it's unclear if another monarch of the same name would even be "the second".[[/note]] When [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope]] Francis became pope in 2013, he was the first pope to choose an unused regnal name in over a millennium and will not become Francis I until another pope takes up that name.
** Except, weirdly, for Pope John Paul I in 1978, who did specifically designate himself as "John Paul the first". Even though at the time there was no immediate prospect of a John Paul II.
* Virtually all the classical Roman emperors used several regnal names, and almost never used regnal numbers. Until well into the Byzantine era, the giving of a single name (and regnal number if necessary) was almost always retrospective.
** True of the Romans in general, contemporaneously and in retrospect. For example, since daughters received only the family name, a girl would be known as (say) Julia until the arrival of a second daughter, in which case she would retroactively become Julia Major and her younger sister Julia Minor.
** Likewise, Roman politicians very often had the exact same name as their fathers or uncles and other ancestors further back. Nicknames were sometimes used to demarcate father, son, or both (e.g., Q. Caecilius Metellus, father and son, were distinguished retrospectively after the son rose to prominence by the nicknames Numidicus and Pius). Otherwise Roman historians fall back on adding the year in which the person held the consulship--in this case, Q. Caecilius Metellus (''cos.'' 109) and Q. Caecilius Metellus (''cos.'' 80)--or another magistracy if the consulship was not attained.
** Literary figures with the same name but separated across time tend to be retroactively distinguished by means of the Major/Minor principle, routinely if somewhat misleadingly translated into English as "the Elder" and "the Younger". The most best-known applications are Cato Major and Minor (the former also being known as Cato the Censor); Pliny Major and Minor; and Seneca Major and Minor.
* With personal names, an individual doesn't gain a generational suffix (e.g. "Sr.") or Roman numeral until they have a child who is the junior or second (II). Similarly, a junior doesn't become the second until there's a third (III).
** The mother of Queen Elizabeth II was also Queen Elizabeth. After her daughter became queen, the senior Elizabeth changed her official style to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.
** UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush was known as just George Bush during his presidency. He became George H.W. Bush when his son UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush ran for president, and was subsequently elected.

[[AC:Sports]]
* The first two UsefulNotes/{{Super Bowl}}s were known at the time as the AFL-NFL Championship Game. The catchier name came about when one of the team owners saw his child playing with a rubber toy called a [[LineOfSightName Super Ball]].
* Likewise, "Wrestling/WrestleMania" can refer to the yearly Wrestling/{{WWE}} event; so when talking specifically about the first one, just billed "[=WrestleMania=]" at the time, fans and even WWE call it "[=WrestleMania=] 1" or "the First [=WrestleMania=]".
** ''[=WrestleMania=] XXX'' in 2014 was the last one to get a number designation, so now fans have to give each edition one of these as soon as the event is over.
* March Madness referred to high school basketball for decades, until it became commonly associated with the NCAA tournament in the 1980s.
* The first [[UsefulNotes/UltimateFightingChampionship UFC]] event was originally billed simply as, "The Ultimate Fighting Championship." Likewise, the second and third event were billed as "Part 2" and "Part III." After they began giving the events individual names with UFC 4 ("Revenge of the Warriors"), Parts 1-3 were retroactively subtitled "The Beginning," "No Way Out," and "The American Dream," respectively.

[[AC:Technology]]
* Corded phone and landline.
* Terrestrial radio (which would've been an oxymoron if "satellite radio" hadn't been invented).
* Analog broadcasting (only called such after digital broadcasting became conceivable).
** Similarly, there's black-and-white television (compared to color), broadcast TV (compared to cable/satellite), and standard definition (compared to High Definition).
*** Which is interesting, as the first electric televisions were called "high-definition" to distinguish them from earlier mechanical televisions, leading to [[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bbc_marconi_emi_hdtv_117667348_639ef37dd0_o.jpg this]] [[TechnologyMarchesOn odd plaque.]]
** Linear television (once streaming services such as Creator/{{Netflix}} and Creator/PrimeVideo became a more popular and convenient way for people to watch programs at whatever time/place they wanted).
* Still photography ("still" wasn't necessary until video cameras became common in American homes).
* SnailMail (once e-mailing was invented).
** Earlier, surface mail in contrast to air mail.
* "Internal combustion engine" appears to be a near-future example. The term is creeping up in technical conversations as electric cars, hybrid drives, and alternative fuels become more common. Internal combustion was on the other side of this when it was the new technology; up until then all "engines" in common use were external combustion steam engines.
* Incandescent light bulbs. Technically, that's always been their proper name, but no one ever called them that before the introduction of fluorescent and [=LED=] bulbs because there weren't any other kinds available.
* Tech products don't become the "first generation" version until a second generation is released, such as the first iPhone in 2007, which was simply the iPhone until its successors were released.
** The iPod was originally called just that. While other models branched out, the core iPod line was still called iPod, until the arrival of the Video iPod. Then, when the iPod Touch came out, the Video iPod was renamed to iPod Classic (likely because other models could now play videos).
* Manual anything, when a power/electric/automatic/etc version is introduced.
* CRT[[note]]Cathode Ray Tube[[/note]] computer monitors were simply "monitors" until LCD monitors became widespread. Likewise, CRT televisions were just called “televisions” before flatscreen [=TVs=] came out.
* Composite cables were simply marketed as AV cables until enhanced-definition televisions were launched to the consumer market during the late [='90s=] with component video inputs.
* Local (or offline) multiplayer after online gaming was popularized.
* Dial-up internet access after the rise of [=DSL=] and cable-based internet services.
* People began calling the VCR (Video Cassette Recorder) a “VHS Player” sometime after it was replaced by the DVD player and then the Blu-Ray player. After the format defeated Betamax, VHS cassettes were usually just called video tapes, but the emphasis on “VHS” had to be made again after they became obsolete.
[[/folder]]

* Creator/{{Atari}}'s [[UsefulNotes/Atari2600 very first console]] was originally sold as the Atari Video Computer System or VCS. It was only after they launched their succeeding console, the UsefulNotes/Atari5200, that they rebranded their original platform as the Atari 2600 (based on the product code they used for the console, CX-2600).

* Following ''VideoGame/AlienHominid'' getting an HD remaster optimised for Steam and Nintendo Switch titled ''Alien Hominid HD'', The HD remater released for Xbox Live originally going by that name was renamed ''Alien Hominid 360''.

* Following ''VideoGame/AlienHominid'' getting an HD remaster optimised for Steam and Nintendo Switch being titled ''Alien Hominid HD'', The HD remater released for Xbox Live going by that name was renamed ''Alien Hominid 360''.

** ''Film/{{Get Carter|1971}}''

* The original English releases of the first four ''{{Franchise/Digimon}}'' anime were released under the blanket title ''Digimon: Digital Monsters'', modern rereleases tend to make use of the original Japanese titles ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'', ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' and ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'' to differentiate between the [[AlternateContinuity alternate continuities]].

* Between egg tempera in 15th century and the usage of acrylic in the mid-20th century, paintings using an oil medium were simply called paintings.