Retrofit

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˌɹɛtɹəʊˈfɪt/

Definitions

1. To improve or modernize an established system or structure by adding newer components or technology for better performance and efficiency
2. To upgrade an existing system or building by installing new technology or components to enhance its functionality
3. To equip an older structure or piece of equipment with current parts or modifications that improve its operation

Etymology: "Retrofit" is a fairly transparent compound: "retro-", meaning backward or back, joined to "fit" in its older sense of equipping or supplying something. To retrofit is therefore to fit something back with equipment it did not originally have, such as adding safety features to an older car or new insulation to an old building. The base "fit" has been used in this equipping sense for centuries, which is why the verb reads so naturally as an upgrade of existing machinery. The noun is the more surprising piece of the story. It is attested later than the verb, and it may have grown out of the verb itself, or it may have been formed separately from "retro-" plus "fit" in the older sense of an act of fitting or the way parts conform to one another. Either way, the noun arrived after the verb had already settled into use, so the verb came first.

Synonyms: update, upgrade, renovate