bustrófedon

See also: bustrofedon, bustrofédon, bustrofèdon, and bustrofedón

Spanish

Alternative forms

Etymology

PIE word
*gʷṓws

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek βουστροφηδόν (boustrophēdón, “boustrophedon”, literally “a turning like an ox”), from βοῦς (boûs, “ox”) + στροφή (strophḗ, “turn”), because the direction of writing is like that of an ox when turning while plowing.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /busˈtɾofedon/ [busˈt̪ɾo.fe.ð̞õn]
  • Rhymes: -ofedon
  • Syllabification: bus‧tró‧fe‧don

Noun

bustrófedon m (uncountable)

  1. (epigraphy) boustrophedon (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)

Further reading

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