Semordnilap¶
semordnilap · letter · validated
A word or text that spells a different word when reversed, unlike a palindrome, which spells the same one.
Provenance¶
- Source: Dmitri A. Borgmann, Language on Vacation (1965)
- Attribution:
reference— attested in a standard reference rather than traced to an origin - Checkability:
self— decidable from the text and its parameters alone - Attested:
codified— formulated as a rule by a tradition rather than declared by an author
Details¶
- Kind: restrictive
- Languages: en, de, fr
- Requires:
tokens,lexicon.words - Deterministic: yes
- Also known as: emordnilap, reversible word
- In other languages: Semordnilap (de), Semordnilap (fr)
Prompt hint¶
Find words that read as a different word backwards, such as stressed and desserts.
Examples¶
stressed-desserts¶
en — this text satisfies the procedure.
stressed
Source: Traditional; the standard English example
a-palindrome¶
en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.
level
Source: constructed counterexample; a palindrome reverses to itself
lager-regal¶
de — this text satisfies the procedure.
Lager
Source: constructed example; Lager and Regal are both nouns the lexicon knows, verified with is_word
a-german-palindrome¶
de — this text does not satisfy the procedure.
Otto
Source: constructed counterexample; Otto reverses to itself
port-trop¶
fr — this text satisfies the procedure.
port
Source: constructed example; port reversed is trop, and both are words the lexicon knows, verified with is_word
un-palindrome-francais¶
fr — this text does not satisfy the procedure.
radar
Source: constructed counterexample; radar reverses to itself