skeuomorphs

Noun

skeuomorph (plural skeuomorphs)

1. A design feature copied from a similar feature in another object, even when not functionally necessary.
   • As soon as man began to make things, to fasten a handle to a stone implement, to construct a wattled roof, to weave a mat, skeuomorphs became an inseparable part of his brain, and ultimately occasioned a mental craving or expectancy.1889, Henry Colley March, “The Meaning of Ornament; or its Archæology and its Psychology”, in Transactions of the Lancashire and Chesire Antiquarian Society, volume 7, page 166

   Synonyms:

   skiamorph