(music) The reversal of a melody so that what is played first in the original melody is played last and what is played last in the original melody is played first.
“As a consequence, for several decades now, the only students being taught this old style are the retrogrades, the people who are holding out in some way.”
“For forty days at a time, Venus reverses direction as seen against the stars, so that it retrogrades over the same part of the zodiac every eight years.”