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Retrograde

//ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd// adj, adv, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective

1
Directed or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travel; retreating.
2
Reverting to an inferior or less developed state; declining, regressing.
3
Reverting to an inferior or less developed state; declining, regressing.; Of an animal: appearing to regress to a less developed form during its lifetime.
4
Of the order of something: inverse, reverse.
5
Of the order of something: inverse, reverse.; Having a passage of music played backwards.

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6
Of ideas or a person: opposing social reform, favouring the maintenance of the status quo; conservative.
"retrograde ideas, morals, etc."
7
Involving a return to or a retracing of a previous course of travel. archaic
8
Counterproductive to a desired outcome; contradictory, contrary. archaic
"In going back to school in Wittenberg, / It is most retrograde to our desire: / And we beseech you, bend you to remain"
9
Of a celestial body orbiting another: in the opposite direction to the orbited body's spin.
10
Of a celestial body: seeming to move across the sky in the opposite direction from its ordinary movement. also, often, postpositional
"Mercury retrograde"
11
Of a metamorphic change: resulting from a decrease in pressure or temperature.
12
Of amnesia: relating to the period leading up to the episode which caused it.
13
Of verse: reading the same forwards or backwards; palindromic. archaic

Adjective

1
of amnesia; affecting time immediately preceding trauma wordnet
2
moving or directed or tending in a backward direction or contrary to a previous direction wordnet
3
moving from east to west on the celestial sphere; or — for planets — around the sun in a direction opposite to that of the Earth wordnet
4
going from better to worse wordnet

Adverb

1
In a reverse direction; backwards.

Noun

1
A movement backwards or opposite to the intended or normal motion.
2
A movement backwards or opposite to the intended or normal motion.; The apparent movement of a planet across the sky in the opposite direction from its ordinary movement.
3
One who opposes social reform, favouring the maintenance of the status quo; a conservative.
4
One who reneges on an agreement, or switches loyalties; a rebel, a renegade. archaic
5
The reversal of a melody so that what is played first in the original melody is played last, and what is played last in the original melody is played first.

Verb

1
To cause (a land feature such as a coastline or waterfall) to undergo retrogradation, that is, to travel in the direction of the land or upstream due to erosion. transitive
2
get worse or fall back to a previous condition wordnet
3
To change (minerals, rocks, etc.) metamorphically through a decrease in pressure or temperature. transitive
4
go back over wordnet
5
To cause (someone or something) to revert to an inferior or less developed state. obsolete, transitive

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6
move back wordnet
7
To revert to an inferior or less developed state; to decline, to regress. intransitive
"[…] Monna Brigida, who had retrograded to false hair in Romola's absence, but now drew it off again and declared she would not mind being gray, if her dear child would stay with her."
8
move in a direction contrary to the usual one wordnet
9
Of a celestial body, especially a planet: to show retrogradation; to seem to move across the sky in the opposite direction from its ordinary movement. intransitive
10
move backward in an orbit, of celestial bodies wordnet
11
Of a land feature: to travel in the direction of the land or upstream due to erosion. intransitive
12
To retreat or withdraw from a position. intransitive
13
To move backwards; to recede. intransitive, obsolete
"A dabble in the stocks does not always turn out profitably; cotton is sometimes heavy on our hands, and real estate will sulkily retrograde, when, by the calculation, it ought to have advanced."
14
Of the telling of an incident, etc.: to move to an earlier time. intransitive, obsolete

Etymology

Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

Etymology 4

From Middle French retrograder (“to (cause to) go back, return; to (cause to) move backwards; of a celestial object: to show retrograde motion; to date to an earlier period”) (modern French rétrograder), and from its etymon Latin retrōgradī (“to go or step back or backwards; of a celestial object: to show retrograde motion”) (compare Late Latin retrogradare, retrogradari, retrogredere), from retrō (“back, backwards; behind; before, formerly”) + gradior (“to step, walk; to advance, go”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰredʰ- (“to go; to walk”)).

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