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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread What's the word for... #65357 04/12/2002 3:15 PM Joined: Apr 2002 Posts: 6 Massachusetts drowser stranger drowser stranger Joined: Apr 2002 Posts: 6 Massachusetts Several years ago a friend of mine and I were discussing words, and wondered whether there was a word that described a word which, when spelled backward, spelled another word. A palindrome, of course, is a special case of such a word, but we couldn't find a word to describe the general case of simply being a word when spelled backward. So we coined one - drow - but didn't at the time, and still don't, have the foggiest notion as to whether we re-invented the wheel or came up with an original. Does any wordsmith out there know whether there's already a word for such a word? Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: What's the word for... #65358 04/12/2002 3:35 PM Joined: Feb 2002 Posts: 322 Toronto, Canada boronia enthusiast boronia enthusiast Joined: Feb 2002 Posts: 322 Toronto, Canada This was part of the AWAD email for Oct. 16, 2000: "A special case of reversible words is palindromes, which spell the same when reversed. So palindromes are a subset of reversible words which in turn are a subset of anagrams. Another name for reversible words is semordnilap, a self-referential word coined by reversing the word palindromes." Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: What's the word for... #65359 04/12/2002 3:40 PM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass tsuwm Carpal Tunnel tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass Quinion! http://www.quinion.com/words/weirdwords/ww-sem1.htm (p.s. - Mrs. Bynre also records semordnilap for posterity.) Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: What's the word for... #65360 04/12/2002 3:41 PM Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 wwh Carpal Tunnel wwh Carpal Tunnel Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 13,858 Dear drowser: I thought "retronym" might be what you are looking for, but it has been used in an entirely different way, meaning a new term to replace an old one. Forthrighrist Phrontistery gives "ananym" for a name written backwards, which doesn't fit your search. Maybe you could coin one, e.g. "reversonym" Surely you can improve on that. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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