Word of the Day

: November 19, 2009

anachronism

noun uh-NAK-ruh-niz-um

What It Means

1 : an error in chronology; especially : a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other

2 : a person or a thing that is chronologically out of place; especially : one from a former age that is incongruous in the present

anachronism in Context

Manual typewriters and slide rules are often regarded as anachronisms in this age of computers and calculators.

Did You Know?

An anachronism is something that is out of place in terms of time or chronology. The word derives from "chronos," the Greek word for "time," and "ana-," a Greek prefix meaning "up," "back," or "again." When it was first used in English in the 17th century, "anachronism" referred to an error in the dating of something (as, for example, in etymology, when a word or use is mistakenly assumed to have arisen earlier than it did). Anachronisms were sometimes distinguished from parachronisms, chronological errors in which dates are set later than is correct. But "parachronism" did not stand the test of time. It is now a very rare word.