34. What Is a 'Retronym'?

<p>You probably encounter them all the time: new words created to describe the older version of a thing. (Like an <em>acoustic</em> guitar. Or <em>skim</em> milk.) Let's talk about them. Then, we'll check in on the English language's former 27th letter: &amp;. No, that's not a typo. We're talking about the ampersand. (And how it got that name.)</p><p>Hosted by Emily Brewster, Neil Serven, Ammon Shea, and Peter Sokolowski.</p><p>Produced in collaboration with New England Public Media.</p><p>Transcript available&nbsp;<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-matters-podcast/episode-34-retronyms-ampersands" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>