Boustrophedon

/ˌbaʊstrəˈfiːdɒn/ noun/adjective

Definition

An ancient method of writing in which alternate lines run in opposite directions — left to right, then right to left — like an ox plowing a field.

Etymology

From Greek 'boustrophedon' — 'bous' (ox) + 'strophe' (turning). Ancient Greeks wrote like a farmer plows — reaching the end of a row and turning around. Your eyes never had to jump back!

Kelly Says

Ancient Greeks wrote like COWS PLOW FIELDS! Left to right, then the next line right to LEFT! Back and forth, back and forth! Your eyes never had to jump back to the start! It's actually BRILLIANT! Why did we stop?! 🐄📝

Translations

AMአማርኛ
ቡስትሮፌዶን
ARالعربية
الكتابة البوسترופيدونية
BNবাংলা
বুস্ট্রোফেডন
CACatalà
bustrofedon
CSČeština
boustrophedon
DADansk
boustrofedon
DEDeutsch
Boustrophedon
ELΕλληνικά
βουστροφηδόν
ESEspañol
bustrofedón
FAفارسی
بوسترفدون
FISuomi
boustrofedon
FRFrançais
boustrophédon
GUGU
બૌસ્ટ્રોફેડન
HAHA
boustrophedon
HEעברית
בוסטרופדון
HIहिन्दी
बुस्ट्रोफेडन
HUMagyar
boustrophedon
IDBahasa Indonesia
boustrophedon
IGIG
boustrophedon
ITItaliano
bustrofedone
JA日本語
牛耕式記法
KKKK
бустрофедон
KMKM
បូស្ត្របូហេឌូន
KO한국어
소쟁기식 필기
MRMR
बौस्ट्रोफेडन
MSBahasa Melayu
boustrophedon
MYမြန်မာ
ဘူးစတြိုဖီဒြုံ
NLNederlands
boustrofedon
NONorsk
boustrofedon
PAPA
ਬੌਸਟ੍ਰੋਫੇਡਨ
PLPolski
bustrofedont
PTPortuguês
bustrofédon
RORomână
boustrofedon
RUРусский
бустрофедон
SVSvenska
boustrofedon
SWKiswahili
boustrophedon
TAதமிழ்
பெளஸ்ட்রோபெடன்
TEతెలుగు
బౌస్ట్రోఫెడన్
THไทย
บุสโตรเฟดอน
TLTL
boustrophedon
TRTürkçe
boustrophedon
UKУкраїнська
бустрофедон
URاردو
بوسٹروفیڈون
VITiếng Việt
boustrophedon
YOYO
boustrophedon
ZH中文
牛耕式书写
ZUZU
uboustrophedon

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.