Somebody at work asked me if there was a word for a word that also read back-to-front. A simple example would be eel and lee.

I said it was a sort of anagram, but didn't know of a special word. Anyone know if there is such a word?

Palindrome. Means 'running back again' or 'recurring' in Greek.

"Able was I 'ere I saw Elba"

"A man, a plan, Panama"

Does anyone know any longer ones?

There's this one. There's also some Roman ones I've run across: Roma tibi subito motibus ibit Amor and in girum imus noctes et consumimur igni.

Isn't a palindrome a phrase that reads the same backwards or forwards? What I'm looking for is the term for a word that makes a different word backwards, like my "eel : lee" example. As I said, it's a variant of an anagram.

Oh, well, it's probably in this list, thought don't let Kalleh see it.

How about: invertogram, anabastard, remanciples, refestinatives, or antanacoptics?

[This message was edited by jheem on Wed Mar %84, 2004 at 13:07.]

The term I've heard of for it is ananym, though if you look that up on-line you'll find it often refers specifically to names used backwards as passwords. Possibly that's because the word already existed for the eel/lee relation, and was taken up by the sort of people who (a) need passwords, and (b) use the Internet.

Well, it's been called a semordnilap (which is simply palindromes spelled backwards), but I wouldn't say that this term could be considered a "word" rather than a coinage that's been thrown out to the world. It gets only about 107 distinct google hits, plus another 16 for the plural form.

By coincidence I read in my newspaper this morning about the tennis player, Serena Williams. She has apparently been filling in time while she was injured designing clothes for her Aneres label. "Aneres", of course, is "Serena" backwards.

Dylan Thomas's play Under MilkWood was set in the Welsh fishing village of Llareggub. Try reversing that.

For what it's worth .... Ukiah, California ...

Coincidentally I chanced on this page of "The Straight Dope" site.

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Call it a type of anagram...

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Not very helpful!

Oh, well, it's probably in this list, thought don't let Kalleh see it.
I saw it, and I am adding "epicaricacy" immediately!

BTW, I loved "aibohpphobia"...fear of palinddromes! [No, it's not misspelled; fear of double-yolked palindromes, whatever they are!]

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Does anyone know any longer ones?

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A famous Greek palindrome is: "Nipson anomimata mi monan opsin" from Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. It means: wash yourself of your sins and don't just wash your face.

Wow, that is great, muse....and it is even greater to see you here again!

I agree and especially since you've been away so long I hesitate to point out what apparently is a typo since your palindrome doesn't work.

Welcome Back!
Chris J. S. (sinless and with a clean face)

since your palindrome doesn't work.
Figures you'd check it! Perhaps I am just too trusting.

Here's an item for your notebook of little-known facts == Argentina has a palindrome province named NEUQUEN.

The Greek is a palindrome: PS is the letter psi.