Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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adj
Synonym of boustrophedonic (“written as a boustrophedon”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable, uncommon
Topics: epigraphy, history, human-sciences, literature, media, publishing, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: boustrophedonic
Antonyms: none provided
adv
Synonym of boustrophedonically (“as a boustrophedon or in a boustrophedonic manner”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable, rare
Topics: epigraphy, history, human-sciences, literature, media, publishing, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: boustrophedonically
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Text written such that its direction alternates on each line, resulting in a continuous stream of characters spanning multiple lines; frequently also involving the corresponding alternation of letter directionality using mirrored letters, indicating the direction of the text at any given point.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: epigraphy, history, human-sciences, literature, media, publishing, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
an ancient writing system: having alternate lines written in opposite directions; literally `as the ox ploughs'
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: orthography, writing system
History
PIE word *gwṓws Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gwṓws Proto-Hellenic *gwous Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs) Ancient Greek στρέφω (stréphō) Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek στροφή (strophḗ) Ancient Greek -ηδόν (-ēdón) Ancient Greek βουστροφηδόν (boustrophēdón)lbor. English boustrophedon Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek βουστροφηδόν (boustrophēdón, adverb, literally “turning like an ox”), from βοῦς (boûs, “ox”) + στροφή (strophḗ, “turning”) + -ηδόν (-ēdón, adverbial suffix), in reference to the back-and-forth course traced by boustrophedon text resembling the path taken by an ox ploughing a field.
Across languages
20 source translations are retained for this English entry.
