retrograde
part of speech
adjective (retrograde); verb (retrograde — rare); noun (retrograde — rare)
meaning for a pupil
1) Going backwards, or getting worse instead of better. tree →
2) (science, astronomy) Moving in the direction opposite to the usual one; for example, a planet seeming to move backwards across the night sky. tree →
3) (medicine) «Retrograde amnesia» is losing memories from before an injury. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In Sefer Yetzirah the word describes a sphere turning backwards, which the text takes as a sign of evil. Interpretation: The tradition reads the turning of the sphere forward or backward as a sign of good or ill. The direction of movement is treated as a message. In the primary lessons: In science and astronomy it describes «retrograde motion»: planets like Mars seem to go backwards for a while because Earth overtakes them. In news and history «a retrograde step» is a change that makes things worse. In astrology people talk of «Mercury in retrograde», which is not science. Phrases: «a retrograde step», «retrograde motion», «in retrograde».
examples
- If the sphere be rotated forward, good is implied, if in a retrograde manner evil is intended. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) tree →
- Closing the library would be a retrograde step. tree →
- Mars shows retrograde motion in the night sky. tree →
- Venus spins in a retrograde direction, opposite to most planets. tree →
- After the fall, he had retrograde amnesia and forgot the morning. tree →
- Some moons orbit in a retrograde way. tree →
- Going back to the old rules felt retrograde. tree →
note
Formal. Myth: planets do not really turn round; it only looks that way from Earth. Claims that «Mercury retrograde» causes bad luck are astrology, not science. Opposite: «progressive».
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «retrograde» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.