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prettygoodwordretrodict (reh-troh-DIKT) - v., to deduce information about the past based on the present state (of something).
Given what we know about now, including traces of past states, how did we get to this point. Used in fields such as archaeology, climatology, and financial analysis. Opposite of predict, which is to deduce the/a future state. Coined in 1940 on the pattern of predict, which at the root is prae-, before + dicere, say, but with the prefix retro-, after.
---L.
Given what we know about now, including traces of past states, how did we get to this point. Used in fields such as archaeology, climatology, and financial analysis. Opposite of predict, which is to deduce the/a future state. Coined in 1940 on the pattern of predict, which at the root is prae-, before + dicere, say, but with the prefix retro-, after.
---L.
