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Anadrome

Word whose spelling is derived by reversing the spelling of another word

Note

a type of anagram

An animation of the anadrome of ''wolf'' and ''flow''.

An anadrome{{efn|Also called (often humorously) a semordnilap or emordnilap, and sometimes called a levidrome.

Semordnilap is an anadrome of palindromes. According to author O. V. Michaelsen in his 1997 book Words at Play, semordnilap was probably first used by recreational linguist Dmitri Borgmann, cited by Martin Gardner in the revised edition of Charles Carroll Bombaugh's Oddities and Curiosities of Words and Literature (1961).
Levi Budd, a boy from Toronto, Canada, coined levidrome in 2017, and there were attempts to get it recognized by Merriam-Webster and Oxford English Dictionary. In 2018, Oxford replied that it is still not ready. As of 2021, it is still being requested.}} is a word or phrase whose letters can be reversed to spell a different word or phrase. For example, desserts is an anadrome of stressed. An anadrome is therefore a special type of anagram. The English language is replete with such words.

The word anadrome comes from Greek anádromos (ἀνάδρομος), "running backward", and can be compared to palíndromos (παλίνδρομος), "running back again" (whence palindrome). An anadrome is also called (often humorously) a semordnilap.

There is a long history (dating at least to the fourteenth century, as with Trebor and S. Uciredor) of alternate and invented names being created out of anadromes of real names; a proper noun conceived in this way is sometimes called an ananym, especially if it is used as personal pseudonym. Unlike typical anadromes, these anadromic formations often do not conform to any real names or words. Similarly cacographic anadromes are also characteristic of Victorian back slang, where for example yob stands for boy.

Examples

The English language has a very large number of single-word anadromes, by some counts more than 900. Examples include:

two letters: am ↔ ma; eh ↔ he; ew ↔ we; no ↔ on
three letters: bro ↔ orb; dog ↔ god; gum ↔ mug; was ↔ saw; nip ↔ pin
four letters: edit ↔ tide; evil ↔ live; liar ↔ rail; part ↔ trap
five letters: denim ↔ mined; knits ↔ stink; lever ↔ revel; peels ↔ sleep
six letters: denier ↔ reined; diaper ↔ repaid; drawer ↔ reward; pupils ↔ slip-up
seven letters: amaroid ↔ diorama; deliver ↔ reviled; gateman ↔ nametag
eight letters: desserts ↔ stressed

An anadrome can also be a phrase, as in no tops ↔ spot on. The word redrum (i.e., "red rum") is used this way for murder in the Stephen King novel The Shining (1977) and its film adaptation (1980).

Anadromes exist in other written languages as well, as can be seen, for example, in Spanish orar ↔ raro or French l'ami naturel ("the natural friend") ↔ le rut animal ("the animal rut").

Invented anadromes

anadrome	derivation	description
daraf	farad	a unit of elastance equal to the reciprocal farad
emirp	prime	a prime number that results in a different prime when its digits are reversed
gnip gnop	ping pong	reminiscent of the other tabletop game
mho	ohm	a unit of electrical conductance which is the reciprocal of an ohm; now known by its official SI name "siemens", although mho is still sometimes used
namyats	Stayman	bridge convention invented by Sam Stayman, who also invented the Stayman convention.
nimda	admin	the computer worm assumed admin-like powers.
tink	knit	to unknit
xallarap	parallax	converse microlensing effect
yrneh	henry	A unit of measurement for reciprocal electrical inductance.

Ananyms and anadromic names

ananym	derivation	description	type	references
Adanac	Canada	a tourist cottage in Ontario	proper name
Adanac[s]	Canada	a Canadian lacrosse team	team name
Adaven	Nevada	ghost town	proper name
Airegin	Nigeria	composer Sonny Rollins is African American	song name
Aksarben	Nebraska	Various groups and locations in Nebraska	proper name
Allerednic	Cinderella	A "riches to rags" tale as opposed to Cinderella's rags to riches. Used by Jonathan Gershuny of high-achieving women whose careers stall after marriage.	proper name
Alucard	Dracula	borne by various characters inspired by Bram Stoker's novel Dracula (1897)	proper name
Ani Lorak	Karolina	stage name of Karolina Kuiek	pseudonym
Azed	Deza	pen name of Jonathan Crowther, after Spanish inquisitor Diego Deza	pseudonym
[C. W.] Ceram	Marec	pen name of German journalist K. W. Marek (latinized Marec)	pseudonym
Dioretsa	asteroid	asteroid with retrograde orbit	proper name	{{cite web
Dnoces	"second"	Apollo program joke by Grissom, after Edward H. White II	proper name
Ebbot [Lundberg]	Tobbe	Tobbe is the usual hypocoristic of his given name Torbjörn	pseudonym
Eivets Rednow	Stevie Wonder		album name
elgooG	Google	reverse-spelling search engine	company name
Navi	Ivan	Apollo program joke by Virgil Ivan Grissom	proper name	last=Harland	first=David Michael	title=The first men on the moon: the story of Apollo 11	url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y4jik85mL8EC&pg=PA136	access-date=22 February 2011	year=2007	publisher=Springer	isbn=978-0-387-34176-7	page=136}}
Erewhon	"nowhere"	A utopia and the title of an 1872 novel by Samuel Butler. The digraph is not reversed. Many names within the book are also ananyms.	proper name	last=Balfour Daniels	first=R.	date=Winter 1969	title=Names in the Fiction of Samuel Butler (1835-1902)	journal=The South Central Bulletin	publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press, South Central Modern Language Association	volume=29	issue=4	pages=129–132	doi=10.2307/3187333	jstor=3187333}}
Erised	"desire "	The Mirror of Erised in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone bears the inscription in reverse: "I show not your face but your heart's desire."	proper name
Esio Trot	"tortoise"	children's book by Roald Dahl	book name
Essiac	Rene Caisse	tea formula invented by Rene Caisse	product name
Etnaviv	Vivante	open-source driver for Vivante GPU	product name
Regor	Roger	Apollo program joke by Grissom, after Roger B. Chaffee	proper name
Гярб вечнълс (Giarb vechnals)	Слънчев бряг (Slanchev briag, "Sunny Beach")	Bulgarian Cyrillic ananym	proper name
Harpo [Productions]	Oprah	Oprah Winfrey's media company	company name
Kebert Xela	"Alex Trebek"	In "Family Guy", an answer given by Adam West to "send him back to the fifth dimension where he belongs", in reference to Mister Mxyzptlk	proper name
Klim	"milk"	a brand of powdered milk sold by Nestlé, early ads featuring the slogan "Spell it backwards"	product name
Kroz	Zork	homage to older computer game	product name
Livic	"civil [engineering]"	trade newspaper, "a reflection of Civil Engineering"	company name
Llamedos	"sod 'em all"	in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels (compare Llareggub)	proper name
Llareggub	"bugger all"	in Under Milk Wood	proper name
MAPS (Mail Abuse Prevention System)	"spam"	reverse backronym	organization name
Nagirroc	Corrigan	historic home in Florida, after the owner's last name	proper name
Namor	"Roman"	comic book character named by Bill Everett	proper name
Nevaeh	"heaven"	feminine given name	proper name
Nevar	"raven"	In the 2002 TV series Raven, Nevar is the nemesis of the main character. It is also a minor character in an episode of Teen Titans Go! (see Bizarro World). (It is also a possible answer to Lewis Carroll's Mad Hatter riddle in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.)	proper name
Niloak Pottery	"kaolin"	material used in products	company name
Nitsuga	Agustín	stage name of Agustín Barrios-Mangoré	pseudonym
Nogard	"dragon"	character in Alan F. Beck art series The Adventures of Nogard & Jackpot	proper name
Nomad	Damon	named for founding member Damon Rochefort	band name
Nomar [Garciaparra]	Ramon	for his father, Ramon Garciaparra	proper name
Nujabes	Seba Jun	stage name of Jun Seba	pseudonym
OAT (organizing autonomous telecomms)	TAO (The Anarchy Organization)	OAT stands for "Organizing Autonomous Telecomms", a reverse backronym of its former name TAO, "The Anarchy Organization"	organization name
Posdnuos	"sound sop"	stage name of Kelvin Mercer	pseudonym
Rae Sremmurd	"Ear" "Drummers"	first act signed to hip-hop label EarDrummers Records	band name
Rednaxela Terrace, Hong Kong	Alexander	believed to have been originally named after a Mr. Alexander, who partially owned the street, but reversed due to a clerical error	proper name
Rekkof Aircraft	Fokker	Rekkof aircraft are based on Fokker designs. Also Rekkof Restart. Now Fokker Next Gen.	company name
Rellim	Miller	a farm in West Virginia, named for founder Paul Miller	proper name
Revilo	Oliver	pen name of cartoonist Oliver Christianson	pseudonym
Revilo [P. Oliver]	[Revilo P.] Oliver	Revilo was philologist Revilo P. Oliver's name at birth	proper name
Ridan	Nadir	named after another horse	proper name
로꾸거 (Rokuko)	거꾸로 (gokkuro)	backwards for Korean for "backwards"	song name
Rotanev	Venator	after Niccolò Cacciatore (Called Nicolaus Venator in Latin)	proper name
Seltaeb	Beatles	the Beatles' merchandising company	company name	url=https://www.savannahnow.com/story/opinion/2021/12/03/what-ananyms-and-anadromes-look-backward-names-and-words/8847630002/	title=Grammar Guy: A look back at backward words	first=Curtis	last=Honeycutt	website=Savannah Morning News}}
Senim Silla	"All is mines."	stage name of hip hop artist Ross Rowe; "mines" is African-American Vernacular for "mine"	pseudonym
Senrab [Street]	Barnes	a street in Stepney (whence Senrab F.C.), near Barnes Street	proper name
Sevas Tra	"Art saves."	debut album of Otep	album name
Soma [Records]	Amos	after owner Amos Heilicher	company name
Strebor	Roberts	altered from the company's original name, the Roberts Company	company name
Sualocin	Nicolaus	after Niccolò Cacciatore (Called Nicolaus Venator in Latin)	proper name	last1=Ridpath	first1=Ian	last2=Tirion	first2=Wil	title=Stars and planets: the most complete guide to the stars, planets, galaxies, and the solar system	year=2007	publisher=Princeton University Press	isbn=978-0-691-13556-4	page=140}}
Tesremos	Somerset	pen name of Derrick Somerset Macnutt	pseudonym
Trebloc	Colbert	place in Mississippi, named for a local family, whose name is found in many places, and thus altered "to avoid further repetition"	proper name
Trebor	Robert	14th-century composer whose real name may have been Robert	pseudonym
Trebor	Robert	Trebor is a confectionary founded by Robert Robertson	company name
Trebor	Robert	Robert Trebor is the stage name of actor Robert Schenkman.	pseudonym
Trebor and Werdna	Robert and Andrew	characters in Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord computer game named after its programmers	proper name
Trugoy [the Dove]	"yogurt"	stage name of David Jude Jolicoeur, due to his fondness for yogurt	pseudonym	date=February 12, 2023	title=De La Soul co-founder Trugoy the Dove dead at 54	url=https://apnews.com/article/trugoy-the-dove-dies-obituary-de-la-soul-music-86ebc0545ff2111c7b0fc6e6f491ef78	access-date=February 13, 2023	website=AP News}}
Xvid	DivX	a competitor	company name
Yarg	Gray	Allan and Jenny Gray revived the recipe	product name
Yellek	Kelley	named for R. J. Kelley, trainmaster at the passing point	proper name
[Stanley] Yelnats	Stanley [Yelnats]	the main character in Louis Sachar's novel Holes	proper name
Yen Sid	Disney	the powerful sorcerer in Fantasia (1940), whose apprentice Mickey Mouse causes mayhem after borrowing his master's hat	proper name

Many jazz titles were written by reversing names or nouns: Ecaroh inverts the spelling of its composer Horace Silver's Christian name. Sonny Rollins dedicated to Nigeria a tune called "Airegin".

A number of Pokémon species, such as the snake Pokémon Ekans and Arbok (cobra backwards with a K), have anadromic names.

Notes

References

Brunton, Finn. (November–December 2010). "Roar so wildly: Spam, technology and language". Radical Philosophy.
Kragh, Helge. (2024). "The Names of Science: Terminology and Language in the History of the Natural Sciences". Oxford University Press.
Sutherland, Denise. (2020). "Solving Cryptic Crosswords for Dummies". John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
(2017). "Etyma II: An Introduction to Vocabulary Building from Latin and Greek". Hamilton Books.
Okrent, Arika. (April 29, 2014). "9 words created by spelling other words backwards".
(13 December 2014). "Is 'Emordnilap' a Real Word?". Snopes.
Bombaugh, Charles Carroll. (1961). "Oddities and Curiosities of Words and Literature". Dover Publications.
(November 27, 2017). "What is a “levidrome?” Merriam-Webster recognizes new word in honor of little boy".
(October 14, 2018). "Latest word on 'levidrome': Oxford says it's not ready, but linguist begs to differ".
"A Victoria 10-year-old created a word for a linguistic oddity. Over the past four years, it's come to mean so much more". Capital Daily.
Lederer, Richard. (1998). "The Word Circus: A Letter-perfect Book". Merriam-Webster, Inc.
"Definition of MHO".
(22 January 2011). "Namyats (4C, 4D, 4H, 4S) - Bridge Bidding Convention". BridgeHands.
(1999). "Time Budgets, Life Histories and Social Position". The Independent.
Room (2010), p.40
Room (2010), p.99
Harland, David Michael. (2007). "The first men on the moon: the story of Apollo 11". Springer.
Balfour Daniels, R.. (Winter 1969). "Names in the Fiction of Samuel Butler (1835-1902)". Johns Hopkins University Press, South Central Modern Language Association.
Jeelani, Hasina. (November 16, 2021). "What we can learn about self-love from the Mirror of Erised in ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’".
Smedley, Emma. (1920). "The school lunch: its organization and management in Philadelphia". [[Emma Smedley]].
(23 March 2007). "Livic at three years old".
(September 12, 2021). "The Story Behind Lewis Carroll’s Unsolvable Riddle".
Alan F. Beck, ''The Adventures of Nogard & Jackpot '', 2009. {{ISBN. 978-1449519391
Harrington, Richard. (1989-05-18). "DE LA SOUL'S MIND-BENDING RAP". The Washington Post.
(2009). "Signs of a Colonial Era". [[Hong Kong University Press]].
(8 July 2016). "Stories behind Hong Kong street names: Rednaxela Terrace and its famous resident". South China Morning Post.
(10 March 2010). "Fokker's Back in the Airplane-Building Game - CBS News".
Honeycutt, Curtis. "Grammar Guy: A look back at backward words".
Crazy Illa Wulf. (May 2007). "Senim Silla: return of a star". platform8470.
(2007). "Stars and planets: the most complete guide to the stars, planets, galaxies, and the solar system". Princeton University Press.
Room (2010), p.517
Phelps, Dawson A.. (Fall 1952). "Names Please: Place Names along the Natchez Trace". Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Mississippi Historical Society.
(February 12, 2023). "De La Soul co-founder Trugoy the Dove dead at 54".
Koehler, Dorene. (2017). "The Mouse and the Myth: Sacred Art and Secular Ritual of Disneyland". Indiana University Press.

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