retro

(rĕt'rō)
adj.

1. Retroactive: retro pay.
2. Involving, relating to, or reminiscent of things past; retrospective: "As is often the case in retro fashion, historical accuracy is somewhat beside the point" (New York Times).

n., pl., -ros.
A fashion, decor, design, or style reminiscent of things past.

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This term was first employed in France in the early 1970s as an abbreviation of the term ‘rétrograde’ (‘rétro’) and was used to look back to past styles and fashions in a nostalgic way. It has entered common currency in the context of marketing past styles whether in terms of music, dress, furniture, appliances, architecture, or car styling. For example, in 1974, the whole of the Selfridge's store window display in Oxford Street, London, was devoted to products and ephemera associated with the period in which the Paramount film, The Great Gatsby, was set, including Art Deco motifs, cocktails, and correspondent shoes. Such contemporary Deco ‘retro’ inclinations of the time were also evident in the Biba emporium in Kensington, with its glamorous Rainbow Room and other references to the glamour of the 1930s. Since then the term has been used almost indiscriminately as a marketing tool, but has also been seen in a more considered way in designs such as the reinterpretation of the Volkswagen Beetle car design by J. Meys in 1998.

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

[Latin, Back; backward; behind.] A prefix used to designate a prior condition or time.

See words rhyming with "retro."

Dansk (Danish)
1.
adj. - retro-, tilbage-, bag-
n. - retro

2.
n. - bremseraket

Nederlands (Dutch)
terug

Français (French)
1.
adj. - rétro
n. - décor, mode, ou style rétro

2.
n. - (Astron) rétrofusée

Deutsch (German)
1.
adj. - nostalgisch
n. - nostalgischer Stil

2.
n. - Abk. für Retropulsionrakete

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αναδρομική παρουσίαση επιτυχιών προσωπικότητας του κόσμου του θεάματος
adj. - ρετρό, αναμνηστικός, αναδρομικός

Italiano (Italian)
retro, all'antica

Português (Portuguese)
abbr. - retro
pref. - retro (la.,)

Русский (Russian)
ретро, (косм.) специалист по двигателям легкой посадки, показ старых фильмов

Español (Spanish)
1.
adj. - característico de un estilo del pasado
n. - moda o estilo retro

2.
n. - apócope de retrocohete

Svenska (Swedish)
abbr. - retrospektiv utställning
pref. - åter
n. - retrospektiv utställning
adj. - retrospektiv utställning, nostalgisk

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
重新流行的, 制动火箭, 减速火箭

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 重新流行的
n. - 制動火箭, 減速火箭

한국어 (Korean)
1.
adj. - 리바이벌의, 재유행의, 재연의
n. - 리바이벌 , 재유행 , 재연

2.
n. - 역추진 로켓 기술자

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - リバイバルの
n. - 逆推進ロケット

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) الملابس المأخوذة عن الماضي (صفه) الملابس المأخوذة عن الماضي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮אחורי, לאחור‬
n. - ‮אופנה, עיצוב או סגנון המזכיר דברים מהעבר‬
n. - ‮(קיצור) רקטת-עזר להאטת מהירות של חללית החוזרת לכדור-הארץ‬

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