Anachronous

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Referring to something that is placed in a time period where it does not belong historically
2. Describing an element that is out of sync with the period it is associated with
3. Characterizing an object or idea that appears misplaced in its chronological context

Etymology: "Anachronous" is built from three Greek pieces: "ana", meaning "up" or "back" or "against", "khronos", meaning "time", and the English adjective ending "-ous", which means "full of" or "having the quality of". Put together, the word describes something that falls against or out of its proper time. It is a formal, rarely used adjective, and its near relative "anachronism" is far more familiar, referring to a thing placed in the wrong period. The Greek prefix "ana" carries a sense of reversal or going back, which is why the same root produces words for things turned upward or repeated. Combined with "khronos", it gives a picture of time running against its own grain. English speakers have long used the noun for misplaced objects, such as a clock in a Shakespearean play, but the adjective form simply describes the quality of being out of step with one's era.

Synonyms: outdated, old-fashioned, dischronous

Antonyms: contemporary, timely, modern