skeuomorphic

1. (originally archaeology) Pertaining to skeuomorphs, obsolete design elements which are retained for familiarity or out of tradition, even though they no longer serve any functional purpose.Examples: "And just as “expectancy” caused the transfer of thong-work from the flint axe, where it was functional, to the bronze celt, where it was skeuomorphic, it carried the chevrons and cruciforms of basketry to the decoration of earthen vessels."; "“[…]Forms of vessels so derived may be said to have an adventitious origin, yet they are essentially copies, although not so by design” (p. 445). In other words, such pottery is primitively skeuomorphic."; "[Scott Forstall] was blamed not only for the map debacle, but for filling iPad and iPhone screens with winsome symbols of traditional objects relating to the different functions on those devices, like the “wooden” shelves containing digital books and magazines. I, for one, would be delighted never to see those tacky symbols again, or to hear the word “skeumorphic,” as that style of digital interface design is called."