The adjective retrograde has two meanings. It is used to indicate that a person has outdated, reactionary and old-fashioned ideas and, on the other hand, refers to a certain type of movement.
The retrograde mindset
There are certain ways of understanding life that do not fit well with the present time. In this way, when someone has their own ideas or ideas from the past, they are said to be retrograde, that is, someone old-fashioned, lame, out-of-date or reactionary. It is an adjective that is used in a pejorative way, because with it it is implied that someone's mentality is not very advanced and is anchored in the past.
Although the word retrograde can be applied in different contexts, it is usually used in relation to political ideas or assessments of some social trends. Thus, if a person defends slavery, opposes the female vote or declares himself against divorce, it is very likely that he will be considered a retrograde.
The fact that certain people receive this rating reminds us that ideas evolve. Among the different examples of transformation of ideas, we could highlight the change in assessment of homosexuality. A few decades ago homosexuality was considered a perverse and abnormal behavior and today a large majority of people admit homosexuality normally and without being scandalized.
In relation to the movement of the planets
Some planets in the solar system move irregularly through space. Planets like Mercury, Saturn or Mars move from west to east, but this movement has interruptions for a certain time and the direction is changed from east to west, that is, the other way around. When this happens we speak of the retrograde movement of the planets, since there is a momentary retreat until the normal displacement of the planetary orbit is resumed.
Scientific understanding of the retrograde motion of the planets did not occur until the seventeenth century, when the astronomer Copernicus introduced the foundations of the heliocentric theory.
In music there is also the concept of retrograde movement
In musical terminology this movement occurs when a melody is read in the opposite direction to the usual, that is, starting at the end and ending at the beginning. This circumstance is a form of contrapuntal technique.
Photo: Fotolia - baloothebear
