boustrophedon
/ˌbuːstɹəˈfiːdən/
boustrophedon 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.
Noun
boustrophedon (countable and uncountable, plural boustrophedons)
- 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.
- The number of Attic boustrophedon texts is fairly small; most of those just cited have been brought down by the experts to a date close to 550 B.C., a date to which several texts of more than one line inscribed left to right may also be assigned (cf. pp.56—57 infra), besides the four-line...1980, Leslie Threatte, The Grammar of Attic Inscriptions: Phonology, page 55
- (Venetic apparently had both kinds of boustrophedon, either flipping the face of the characters when switching direction or else inverting them (Lejeune, 1974, pages 180-181).)2000, Richard Sproat, A Computational Theory of Writing Systems, page 61
Adjective
boustrophedon (not comparable)
- Synonym of boustrophedonic (“written as a boustrophedon”).
- Synonyms:
- boustrophedonic
Adverb
boustrophedon (not comparable)
- Synonym of boustrophedonically (“as a boustrophedon or in a boustrophedonic manner”).
- Synonyms:
- boustrophedonically
boustrophedon meaning in Hindi, Tamil and Arabic
boustrophedon in Hindi
- text written such that its direction alternates on each line
- सर्पलेखन sarpalekhan
boustrophedon in Tamil
- இடதுபுறமிருந்து வலமாகச் செல்கிற, இடவலமாக எழுதப்படுகிற, இடமிருந்து வலமாக
boustrophedon in Arabic
- text written such that its direction alternates on each line
- بُطْرُفَة buṭrufa
Synonyms of boustrophedon
Forms of boustrophedon
| plural | boustrophedons |
|---|---|
| alternative form | bustrophedon |
Origin of boustrophedon
PIE word *gʷṓws Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws Proto-Hellenic *gʷous Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs) Proto-Indo-European *strebʰ-der. Ancient Greek στρέφω (stréphō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-ā́ 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.
Words formed from boustrophedon
- boustrophedal
- boustrophedic
- boustrophedical
- boustrophedically
- boustrophedonal
- boustrophedonally
- boustrophedonic
- boustrophedonical
- boustrophedonically
- reverse boustrophedon
Words that rhyme with boustrophedon
- eden
- Breeden
- Sweden
- cotyledon
- dicotyledon
- acotyledon
- microcotyledon
- monocotyledon
- Peden
- polycotyledon
- readen
- reeden
2 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about boustrophedon
- What does boustrophedon mean?
- Boustrophedon means 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.
- What is boustrophedon in Hindi?
- Boustrophedon in Hindi is सर्पलेखन (sarpalekhan). See Boustrophedon meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is boustrophedon?
- Boustrophedon can be a noun, an adjective or an adverb.
- How do you pronounce boustrophedon?
- Boustrophedon is pronounced /ˌbuːstɹəˈfiːdən/.
- What is the plural of boustrophedon?
- The plural of boustrophedon is boustrophedons.
Words near boustrophedon in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: boustrophedon (page history and authors); boustrophedon (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-boustrophedon.wav.
Cite this entry: “boustrophedon.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/boustrophedon. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.