Hypertext Webster Gateway: "retrograde"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Retrograde \Re"tro*grade\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Retrograded}; p.
pr. & vb. n. {Retrograding}.] [L. retrogradare, retrogradi:
cf. F. r['e]trograder.]
1. To go in a retrograde direction; to move, or appear to
move, backward, as a planet.
2. Hence, to decline from a better to a worse condition, as
in morals or intelligence.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Retrograde \Re"tro*grade\, a. [L. retrogradus, from retrogradi,
retrogressus, to retrograde; retro back + gradi to step: cf.
F. r['e]trograde. See {Grade}.]
1. (Astron.) Apparently moving backward, and contrary to the
succession of the signs, that is, from east to west, as a
planet. --Hutton.
And if he be in the west side in that condition,
then is he retrograde. --Chaucer.
2. Tending or moving backward; having a backward course;
contrary; as, a retrograde motion; -- opposed to
{progressive}. ``Progressive and not retrograde.''
--Bacon.
It is most retrograde to our desire. --Shak.
3. Declining from a better to a worse state; as, a retrograde
people; retrograde ideas, morals, etc. --Bacon.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
retrograde
adj 1: (astronomy) moving from east to west on the celestial
sphere; or--for planets--around the sun in a direction
opposite to that of the Earth [ant: {direct}]
2: of amnesia; affecting time immediately preceding trauma
[ant: {anterograde}]
3: going from better to worse [syn: {declining}, {deteriorating},
{failing}, {regressing}, {retrogressive}]
4: moving or directed or tending in a backward direction or
contrary to a previous direction [syn: {retral}]
v 1: move backward in an orbit, of celestial bodies
2: move in a direction contrary to the usual one; of stars and
planets
3: move back; "The glacier retrogrades" [syn: {retreat}]
4: go back over; "retrograde arguments" [syn: {rehash}]
5: get worse; fall back to a previous or worse condition [syn:
{regress}, {retrogress}] [ant: {progress}]
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