Word of the Day : December 1, 2017

anachronism \uh-NAK-ruh-niz-um\ noun

Definition

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

3 : the state or condition of being chronologically out of place

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." In its earliest English use, 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.

Aired December 1, 2017

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