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Origin and history of retrograde

retrograde(adj.)

late 14c., of planets, "appearing to move in the sky contrary to the usual direction," from Latin retrogradus "going back, moving backward," from retrogradi "move backward," from retro "backward, reverse" (see retro-) + gradi "to go, step" (from PIE root *ghredh- "to walk, go"). General sense of "tending to revert" is recorded from 1530s; that of "directed backward, in a direction contrary to the original motion" is from 1620s. .

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to retrograde

retro(adj.)

1974, from French rétro (1973), supposedly first used of a revival c. 1968 of Eva Peron-inspired fashions and short for rétrograde (see retrograde). There is an isolated use in English from 1768, and the word apparently was used in 19c. French as a term in billiards. As a noun, short for retro-rocket (1948) from 1961.

retrogression(n.)

"the act of going backward," in reference to the apparent motion of planets in the sky, 1640s, noun of action, formed on model of progression, from Latin retrogressus, past participle of retrogradi "move backward" (see retrograde). Related: Retrogressional.

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More to explore

direct
late 14c., directen, "to write or address (a letter, words)" to someone, also "to point or make known a course to," from Latin directus past participle of dirigere "set straight, arrange; give a particular direction to, send in a straight line; guide" a thing, either to something
regress
late 14c., regresse, "a return, passage back, act of going back," from Latin regressus "a return, retreat, a going back," noun use of past participle of regredi "to go back," from re- "back" (see re-) + gradi "to step, walk" (from PIE root *ghredh- "to walk, go"). More common in
retreat
c. 1300, retrete, "a step backward;" late 14c., "act of retiring or withdrawing; military signal for retiring from action or exercise," from Old French retret, retrait, noun use of past participle of retrere "draw back," from Latin retrahere "draw back, withdraw, call back," from
electrocution
Electrocution, unless better performed than in the first instance, is a retrograde step rather than the contrary....
retire
1530s, of armies, "to retreat, draw back," also, of persons, "to withdraw" to some place, especially for the sake of privacy; from French retirer "to withdraw (something)," from re- "back" (see re-) + Old French tirer "to draw" (see tirade). Related: Retired; retiring. The sense
decline
late 14c., "to turn aside, deviate" (a sense now archaic), also "sink to a lower level," and, figuratively, "fall to an inferior or impaired condition," from Old French decliner "to sink, decline, degenerate, turn aside," from Latin declinare "to lower; avoid, deviate; bend from,
travel
late 14c., "to journey," from travailen (1300) "to make a journey," originally "to toil, labor" (see travail). The semantic development may have been via the notion of "go on a difficult journey," but it also may reflect the difficulty of any journey in the Middle Ages. Replaced
backward
"with the face to the rear, in the direction behind," c. 1300, from abakward, from Old English on bæc (see back (adv.), and compare aback) + -weard adjectival and adverbial suffix (see -ward). As an adverb, Old English had bæcling. As an adjective, from 1550s. The meaning "behind
orbit
late 14c., "the eye-socket, the bony cavity of the skull which contains the eye," from Old French orbite or directly from Medieval Latin orbita, a transferred use of Latin orbita "wheel track, beaten path, rut, course" (see orb). The astronomical sense of "circular or elliptical
decree
"special ordinance or regulation promulgated by authority," early 14c., originally ecclesiastical, secular use is by late 14c., from Old French decre, variant of decret (12c., Modern French décret), from Latin decretum, neuter of decretus, past participle of decernere "to decree,

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