Standard Lemma guide

boustrophedonic

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

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

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Written as a boustrophedon (such that the text directionality alternates on each line, resulting in a continuous stream of characters spanning multiple lines).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: epigraphy, history, human-sciences, literature, media, publishing, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: boustrophedon, boustrophedic, boustrophedal, boustrophedonical, boustrophic, boustrophedical, boustrophedonal

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective

Meaning 2

of or relating to writing alternate lines in opposite directions

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From boustrophedon + -ic, from Ancient Greek βουστροφηδόν (boustrophēdón).

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • German: bustrophedon — written as a boustrophedon
  • German: boustrophedon — written as a boustrophedon
  • Italian: bustrofedico — written as a boustrophedon
  • Italian: bustrofedica — written as a boustrophedon
  • Portuguese: bustrofédico — written as a boustrophedon
  • Portuguese: bustrofédica — written as a boustrophedon
  • Portuguese: bustrofedónico — written as a boustrophedon
  • Portuguese: bustrofedónica — written as a boustrophedon
  • Portuguese: bustrofedônico — written as a boustrophedon
  • Portuguese: bustrofedônica — written as a boustrophedon
  • Russian: бустрофедони́ческий (bustrofedoníčeskij) — written as a boustrophedon