Retronyms are words coined for the purpose of describing an object or concept whose original name is no longer unique. Often, these words are necessitated by the advent of technology -- such as when email and voicemail became prevalent, the term "snail mail" came into being. Also, the invention of the electric guitar brought along the term "acoustic guitar."
However, there are also non-technological retronyms. Before World War II, World War I was known as "The Great War" or "The War to End All Wars." And when a sequel to a movie comes out, the original is often commonly referred to as (for example) "Jaws 1" or "Star Trek 1."
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