Retrodated

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Marked as having occurred at a date earlier than the true chronological date
2. Assigned an earlier date than when it actually happened or was created
3. Given a date that precedes the actual time of occurrence

Etymology: "Retrodated" is the past tense and past participle of "retrodate," which is built from two familiar pieces: the prefix "retro-," meaning backward, and "date." Put together, the verb literally means to give something a date that points backward in time, so a document signed in March but dated the previous January has been retrodated. The prefix "retro-" comes from Latin "retro," meaning "backward" or "behind," and it has been used in English to form many words about reversing or looking back, such as "retrospect" and "retroactive." Attaching it to "date" produced a term for the deliberate or accidental act of back-dating something, which is why the verb is most often heard in contexts like contracts, legal filings, and scientific priority claims.

Synonyms: backdated, dated back