Unmodernize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Returning something to an older, less current style or condition so that it no longer reflects contemporary standards or design
2. Reversing the process of updating something so that it becomes old-fashioned again rather than up to date with recent practices
3. Making a thing lose its modern character by restoring it to earlier methods, forms or features that are no longer current

Etymology: "Unmodernize" is a plain formation: the prefix "un-", meaning "reverse" or "undo," attached to "modernize." The verb "modernize" is built from "modern," which came into English from French "moderne" and ultimately from Late Latin "modernus," a derivative of "modo," meaning "just now." Adding "un-" gives the sense of undoing modernization, returning something to an earlier, pre-modern state. Because "un-" is a productive prefix that English speakers attach freely to verbs, "unmodernize" needs no special coinage story. It is best understood as a transparent compound of its two parts, with its meaning following directly from them.