Anachronize

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈnækɹənaɪz/

Definitions

1. To incorrectly associate a person, event, or object with a time period in which it did not exist or belonged
2. To attribute something to a period in history where it does not belong
3. To place an object, event, or person in a time frame that is historically inaccurate

Etymology: Ancient Greek had the verb "anakhronizein", built from "ana" (back, against) and "khronos" (time), and it meant to commit an error in chronology, placing an event at the wrong date. English took the verb directly from that Greek form, so "anachronize" is a learned borrowing rather than a word that passed through French or Old English. The Greek root is the same one behind "chronology" and "chronic," but the prefix "ana" gives the sense of running backward against the proper order of time. Its use as an English verb is recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary, which is a late arrival compared with the noun "anachronism," the more familiar form that many readers meet first.

Synonyms: misplace, misdate, mistime

Antonyms: synchronize, chronologize