6

tic words:
THE MAJESTIC PALINDROME
evoca live
(lito mark
uncomforta
myself wit
Edgar AI11
title of hi~
DMITRI A. BORGMANN 2 Letters
Dayton, Wa sh ing ton
Only on
Towering above all other features of the logological landscape 55, plural
are pal mdromes. Enveloped in a majestic, icy, una pproacha b Ie in like m
grandeur all their own, their perfect symmetry or balance has Add ing to
symbolized the eternal in a changing world - for more than 2000 other well
yea rs. Palindromes therefore constitute the logologica I equi va len t cindery fo
of an archetypal Platonic form a form which all else reflects for "eye")
imperfectly, and to which it aspires, but which nothing else can letter pal:
ever attain. a shining

Two species of the palindrome have attracted the greatest admir­ 3 Letters
ation and awe: the word or name, and the sentence or verse. There ar
The search for English sentence palindromes and cancrine or 50tad­
ic verse has languished in the past few decades, possibly because ADA A
of a spreading perception that almost all quality examples have AHA 1\'
a I ready been found. By contrast, the search for word and name A LA I3
palindromes has continued vigorously, flounshing as never before. ANA BI
Some logologists, such as Jeff Grant of Hastings, New Zealand Interject
(a Clty on North Island, 160 miles northeast of Wellington), have such as I
actually accumulated more than a thousand specimens of the genre. are so mu
There are, unfortunately, not nearly that many quality English denied adr
word and name palindromes. Most of them are highly objectionable as common
in one or more different ways they are blatantly obsolete or the highly
dialectal; tautonyms or tautonym plurals; or so un-English in its Frenchr
appearance and sound that logological aesthettcs prohibits their included t
admission to the hallowed grounds of Eng I ish pal indromy. The I feel, he
purpose of thiS article is, accordingly, to select and present all for help" c
known qua I ity word and name palindromes as a unified group, 4 Letters
for the first time anywhere, casting all others into the Outer Dark­
ness from which they emerged briefly to haunt logologists. The There ar
following list of pa lindromes is classified by letter length, and ANNA
a I phabetized with in each letter length. The palindromes are de­ BOOB
fined, commented upon, or discussed - as seems appropriate. The
English list is followed by a much shorter list of the finest known BOOB an
foreign-language pal indromes, to present a complete picture of liked mdi'
word palindromes today. is a palir
to its disti
1 Letter
5 Letters
Each letter of the alphabet is a palindrome, and each one is
a dictionary entry, defined both as the letter itself and in other There ar
plebeian ways - as an object in the shape of that letter, for in­ CIVIC
stance. This cheapening monotony excludes most letters from my DELED
list. Deserving of inclusion are four letters that are also authen­ DEWED
 7
tic words: A and 1 (two of the most common Engl ish words), the
evoca t i ve and invoca t i ve poet ic exclamation 0, and the verb X
("to mark with an X"). The last of these words makes me a little
uncomfortable because 1t is spelled w1thout a vowel. 1 console
myseH with the thought that it has a respectable literary history:
Edgar Allan Poe, for instance, used its present part1c1ple in the
title of his short story. "X-1ng a Paragrab."
2 Letters
Only one word of this letter length qualifies for inclusion here:
d landsca pe SS, plural of the letter S. All other letters form their plurals
lpproacha b Ie in like manner, but none of the other plurals is a palindrome.
ba lance has Add1ng to its uniqueness is the decisive contrast between SS and
re than 2000 other well-known two-letter palindromes such as AA (a rough,
1 equivalent cindery form of lava common in Hawa1i), EE (the Scottish word
else reflects for "eye"), and 00 (an ext1nct Hawa1ian bird). The other two­
.ng else can letter palindromes are so flagrantly un-Engllsh that SS becomes
a sh1ning example by comparison.

~atest admir­ 3 Letters

e or verse. There are 36 quality English word palindromes of J letters:
ne or Sotad­
ibly because ADA ASA DAD ERE GAG MOM PAP PUP TIT

amples have AHA AVA DID EVE GIG MUM PEP SIS TOT

d and name A LA BIB DUD EWE HAH NUN PIP SOS TUT

lever be fore. ANA BOB EKE EYE HUH OHO POP TAT WOW

~ew Zea la nd Lnterjections such as AHA, HAH, HUH, OHO, and WOW, and words
19ton), have such as DAD, MOM, and SIS are informal, of course, but they
the genre. are 50 much a part of the English language that they cannot be
llity English demed admisslOn to my 11st. ADA, ASA, and AVA are acceptable
objectiona b Ie as common f1rst names. The two-word term A LA is preferable to
obsolete or the highly technical term ALA because it is far more common, and
I-Engl1sh in its Frenchness lends it an air of charm and Soph1st1cation. 1 have
)hib1tS their included the fully capitalized term SOS w1th some trep1datlOn:
1dromy. The 1 feel, however, that its informal meaning of "any urgent call
presen tall for help" quallfies it for inclusion here.
ified group, 4 Letters
Outer Dark­
logists The There are 11 quality English word palindromes of 4 letters:
length, and ANNA DEED MA'AM OTTO POOP TOOT
nes are de­ BOOB KOOK NOON PEEP SEES
Jpriate. The
finest known BOOB and KOOK a re both informa 1 terms of deroga tion for a d is­
picture of liked 1nd 1 vidu a 1; ANNA and OTTO are common first names. NOON
is a pal indrome upside down as well as nght slde up, addlng
to ltS distinction and value.
5 Letters
each one is
l.nd in other There are 20 quality Enghsh word palindromes of 5 letters:
tter, for 1n­ CIVLC KAYAK MINIM REFER SARAS
~rs from my DELED LEVEL PUT UP ROTOR SERES
also authen­ DEWED MADAM RADAR SAGAS SEXES
 8
SHAHS SOHOS STATS STETS TENET ther sl ight
KAYAK is a word that could be regarded as objectiOnably for­ sion result~
e1gn; I have included it because it is common enough to be found APOLLO,
in all current pocket dictionaries, as well as in hard-cover dic­ DEDEEDEI;
tionaries for juvenile readers. The two-word verb PUT UP, with DRAY YAR
assorted meanings, is aesthetically preferable to the hyphenated
adject1ve PUT-UP. SARAS is the plural of the feminine first name APOLLO,
SARA, formed in accordance with current Webstenan rules. SHAHS syl vania, s
is another foreign word, qualifying for inclusion because American DEDEEDED
involvement with the Shah of Iran resulted in the lraman hostage REDEEDER
crisis, central to the American consciousness for a period of more These are ~
than a year. SOHOS are hailing shouts used by huntsmen. L1ke property by
its shorter companion NOON, the word 1S a four-way pahndrome. DRAY YAR
STATS is an informal name for photostats, listed in Roget's Inter­ or repaired
natiOnal Thesaurus, if nowhere else. hauhng he
may and sl
6 Letters but I hes]
There are eight quality Enghsh word paltndromes of 6 letters: of two Y' s.
GNIPPING
DENNED PULL UP RETTER TERRET longer in u
HANNAH REDDER TAT-TAT TUT-TUT because the
HANNAH is a feminine first name. The two-word verb PULL UP bles GRIPP
is aesthet1cally preferable to the hyphenated noun PULL-UP. The ing at the
mutual transposals RETTER (one who soaks flax) and TERRET 10 the Oxf!
(a ring on the top of a harness pad) are remote from the every­ to show th
day Ii ves of most Americans . TAT-TAT and TUT - T UT are ta utonyms, 1 am certa
but thoroughly English ones. that other (
participle \
7 Letters ("stylets")
With the advance to the 7-letter level, a slight loosening of years) Funk
the standards governing pal indrome admiss10n is in order, and PEEP-PEEl
takes effect. On the new basis, there are 8 quality English word in the Oxf<
pa 1indromes of 7 I etters: sparrow, a
is the blast
DEIFIED RACK CAR REVIVER TOP SPOT SNELL EN':
RACE CAR REPAPER ROTATOR VERY REV. Dutch is a
RACE CAR (an automobile used in racing) and TOP SPOT (as Germanic) 0
on a political ticket) are common terms in Engl ish parlance: I More impor1
have seen each of them repeatedly 1n newspaper and magazine too well-kn
articles. Their absence from dictionanes is, therefore, irrelevant it on every
in evaluating them qualitatively. RACK CAR (A railroad flatcar SNIFFIN'S
for transporting motor vehicles) is 10 Webster's 1981 Addenda Sec­ 1al plurals
tion and elsewhere. VERY REV. 1S the shortened form of (The) as a vana
VERY REVEREND, a title used 1n addressing certain ecclesiastics The Americc
(a canon or clergyman belonging to the chapter or staff of a cath­ and H. L. ~
edra 1 or collegiate church, for example). 506, unitalil
8 Letters 9 Letters
The advance to the higher levels of the palindrome, thriving Since thel
in a rarefied atmosphere, req u 1res abandoning reI iance on dict lOn­ with an eVE
anes as a rb1 ters of word acceptability, replacing such rehance ability stan
with reliance on one s own expert knowledge of English. This fur­
I produces it
ing 22 pa lir
 9
ther shght relaxation of the standards governing palindrome admis­
Lonably for­ sion results in 11 quallty English word palmdromes of 8 letters:
to be found APOLLO, PA GN1PPING SNELLEN'S STELLETS
:i-cover dic­ DEDEEDED PEEP-PEEP SNIFFIN'S TOOT-TOOT
T UP, with DRAY YARD REDEEDER SNIPP1N'S
hyphena ted
first name APOLLO, PA. A borough in Armstrong County, in western Penn­
·ules. SHAHS sylvania, some 25 miles east-northeast of Pittsburgh.
se Amencan DEDEEDED ("rescinded a transfer by deed of property") and
llan hostage REDEEDER ("one who transfers property by means of a deed").
"lod of more These are slmple derivatives of the common verb DEED ("to transfer
tsmen. L lke property by means of a deed").
pa llndrome. DRAY YARD. Just as a sh1pyard lS a place where ships are built
get's lnter­ or repaired, SOlS a dray yard a place where drays (carts for
hauling heavy loads) are bUilt, stored, or repaired. The term
may and should probably be written as a solid word, DRAYYARD,
but [ hesitated doing so because of the resulting juxtaposltion
letters: of two Y' s.
GNIPP1NG and STELLETS. Both words were formerly but are no
longer in use. They are acceptable to me desplte then obsoleteness
because they look Just llke modern English words (GNIPPING resem­
rb PULL UP b les GR I PP [NG;5TEL LETS resembles SK 1LLETS). GN 1PP I NG ("cham p­
JLL-UP. The lng at the blt, as a horse") is in Webster's First EdltlOn and
Id TERRET in the Oxford. The illustrative quotations in the Oxford happen
the every­ to show the present participle of the verb GN1P as GN1PPAND.
tautonyms, 1 am certaln that the choice of quotations was accidental, and
that other quotat1ons could have been selected in which the present
partiClple was used ln the palindromic form GN1PP1NG. STELLETS
("stylets") is in both the old (893) and the new (1913 and later
_oosening of years) Funk and Wagna 11 s una bridged dictionanes.
order, and PEEP-PEEP and TOOT-TOOT. Both words are in 11ghtface type
nglish word ln the Oxford. PEEP-PEEP, under PEEP, is the cry of the hedge
sparrow, a bud thereby immorta lized. TOOT-TOOT, under TOOT,
is the blast of a horn.
SNELLEN'S. SNELLEN is a Dutch, not an English, surname, but
Dutch is a language belong1ng to the same branch and group (West
:>SPOT (as GermanLcl of the lndo-European language familyp as does Engllsh.
parlance: 1 More importantly, SNELLEN'S test type for visual acuity is all
d magazine too well-known to Americans, and some of them are exposed to
lrre levan t it on every business day.
oad flatcar SNIFFlN'S and SN1PPIN'S. These are those forms of the gerund­
ddenda Sec­ 1al plurals SN1FFlNGS and SN1PPINGS Wh1Ch correspond to F1X1N'S
m of (The) as a vanant of FIXINGS. FIX1N'S is found in references such as
~cclesiastics The Amencan Thesaurus of Slang by Berrey and Van den Bark,
. of a cath­ and H. L. Mencken 's The America n La nguage : Supplement One (p .
506, unitaliClzed type).
9 Letters
e, thnving Slnce there are many more palindromes spelled with an odd than
on dictlon­ with an even number of letters, the shght liberahzation of accept­
ch rellance ability standards adopted with respect to 8-letter word palindromes
ThlS fur- produces 1tS first significant effect at the 9-letter level, prov1d­
ing 22 palmdromes at that level;
 10
ABBA DABBA N.A. GAHAGAN REGARAGER SEMlDlMES "One who 0
DERBY-BRED NE'ER-GREEN RELEVELER SEMlTIMES REP. PE
ELL EMELLE NEVER-EVEN REP. PEPPER SORBY BROS the House
EVlTATlVE NON-ALANON RE-REVERER STENT NETS resents the
LEONA NOEL RED-EYEDER ROTAVATOR TAT-TAT-TAT January, IS
MARY BYRAM REDlVlDER ROTAVATC
ABBA DABBA. The payoff portion of "Abba Dab ba Honeymoon, " tool with
the title of a song of 1914 vintage, with both words and music Dictionary
written by a pair of then 26-year-olds: Arthur Fields and Walter metz, and
Donovan. The longtime standing of the song as a popular favorite I assume t
outweighs the unfortunate resemblance of the palindrome to one Rototiller.
of native African or Polynesian provenance. SEMIDIME
DERBY-BRED. A compound adjective describing horses bred for SEMlTIME
the specific purpose of competing in horse races such as the Ken­ written wo
tucky Derby. word and
EL L EMEL L E. A town in Be Igi um, some 13 miles south-southeast ment (Rev.
of the city of Liege. The town is in the French-speaking portion the Bible.
of Belgium, and its name is a French one, a factor outwe1ghing 1687), an
its somewhat unfortu na te close a pproxima tlOn to a tautonym. An Exposit
EVITATIVE. Tending to shun or to avoid: an adjective derived or 1669; th
from the verb EVlTATE and the noun EVlTATlON. cation), ar
LEONA NOEL, MARY BYRAM, and N. A. GAHAGAN. P a lind romic names ments and I
of ind i vidua 1s in the English-speak ing world. There almost certa in­ SORBY BR
ly are, or have been, actual individuals so named. Find1ng the and owned
names in reference works 1S unimportant, however - they are there, 1n fine st
like empty seats on a bus, whether or not anyone is ingenious by Charles
enough and opportunistic enough to use them. Words and names 1908) was
are archetypes endowed with an eternal eX1stence entirely indepen­ and who h
dent of their actual use. I consider myself very fortunate to have in West Rid
chanced upon these pa rtic ular palindromes. bus1ness fc
NE' ER-GREEN. A compound adjective describing entities that are or not is
never green - entities such as cow's m1lk, northern ravens, and to be fille
erythrocytes. Use of the word is most appropriate in a poetic or fill it, and
solemn context. STENT NE
NEVER-EVEN. Another com pound adjective, this one descn bing fishing (We"
quantities whose numerical values are 1nvariably odd - 3, 5, or TAT - TAT-'
7, for instance. Numbers not evenly divisible by two are never- (Webster's
even numbers.
NON-ALANON. Yet another compound adjective, one des1gna ting 10 Letters
princi pIes, practices, or ind ividua Is not associated with or rep­ There arE
resenting AI-Anon, an organization a ffilia ted with Alcoholics Anony­
mous and dedicated to help1ng the families of alcoholics. Encoura­ DETANNAT
g ing alcoholics to dn nk more and more is a non-AI-Anon practice. ETI ENNEI'
RED-EYEDER. The compa ra ti ve form of the adjective RED-EYED. DETANNATED
An alternative form, MORE RED-EYED, is more common. RED-EYEDER, has been
however, is in the tradition of wnters such as Thomas Carlyle, of C1 nchonii
who used comparatives such as beautifuller, eminenter, and slavish­ reViS1on, Pl
er. ETIENNEl'
REDIVIDER, REGARAGER, RELEVELER, and RE-REVERER. Each of French dra
these agent nouns follows the standard rules of English word forma­ a French 1
tion, and each is denved from a slmple verb (to div1de, garage, in words 5
level, or revere). Each term has a definition cast in the mold, bndged edi
 11
MES "One who or that which reperforms the action of the root verb."
MES REP. P EPP ER . Claude Denson Pepper, a Democratic member of
BROS the House of Representatives. He was born September 8, 1900, rep­
NETS resents the State of Florida, and has been a congressman since
\T-TAT January, 1963.
ROTAVATOR. The ong ina1 spell ing of ROTOVATOR, a power-driven
tool wlth rotating blades for breaking up or tilling the soil (A
Honeymoon, "
Dictionary of New English 1963-1972, by C.L. Barnhart, S. Stein-=­
3 and music
metz, and R.K. Barnhart, pubhshed 1973). Though I am no farmer,
, and Walter
1 assume that this Bntish term is the equivalent of the American
lIar favorite
Rototi ller.
rome to one
SEMIDIMES. A delightfully natural name for nickels.
SEMITIMES. According to Webster's Second Edition, a soltdly­
es bred for
written word meaning "half times." The Oxford hyphenates the
as the Ken­
word and relates it to the words "half a time" in the New Testa­
ment (Rev. 12:14). 1 have never found the word SEMI-TIME in
lth-southeast
the Bible. It is actually found in two works by Henry More (1614­
king portion
1687), an Engltsh philosopher of the Cambridge Platonist school:
outwelgh 109
An EXposltion of the Seven Epistles of the Seven Churches 0664
lym.
or 1669; the Oxford contradicts itself regarding the year of pUbli­
tive derived
cat ion), and Para lipomena Prophetica, Containing Several Su pple­
ments and Defences ( 1685).
jromic names
nost certain­ SORBY BROS. An excellent name for a busmess partnership formed
Finding the and owned by the Sorby brothers. SORBY is an English surname
yare there, ln fine standing (A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames
is ingenious by Charles Wareing Bardsley, 1967). Henry Clifton Sorby (1826­
and names 1908) was an English geologist who studied Egyptlan hleroglyphics
ely indepen­ and who helped found Sheffield University in 1905 (a unlversity
late to have in West Rlding, Yorkshire, England). 1 am told that a SORBY BROS.
busmess formerly existed somewhere in Michlgan. Whether it did
les that are or not is lmmaterial - the name is like an empty vessel, waiting
ravens, and to be filled. It is there, whether or not a business appears to
a poetic or fill lt, and that is all that matters.
STENT NETS. Nets anchored at one end to a stake, used ln river
descnblOg fishlng (Webster's Third Edition).
- 3, 5, or TAT-TAT-TAT. A sound of sharp, repeated knocking or tapping
are never- (Webster's Third Edition): a thoroughly English retnplication.
10 Letters
designating
{ith or rep­ There are 5 quality Engllsh word palindromes of 10 letters:
01 ics Anony­
DETANNATED N.A. GILL1GAN RESUFFUSER
:s. Encoura­
ETIENNEITE NELLA ALLEN
1 practice.
~ RED-EYED. DETANNATED. Separated from, or free of, tannic acid. The word
RED-EYEDER, has been used as part of the drug name "detanna ted tincture
nas Carlyle, of cinchona" (Pharmacopoeia of the United States, 8th decennial
and slavish­ reV1Slon, Philadelphia, 1905).
ETIENNEITE. A follower of Charles G. Etienne (1778-1845), a
~R. Each of French dramatist and poet; or of Plerre H. Etienne (1801-1861),
word forma­ a French poli tlcian. The last E of Etienne is retained, as lt is
ide, garage, in words such as Boiseite and Sea ttle i te (see the one-vol ume a­
n the mold, bndged edition of The Amencan Lang uage by H. L. Mencken, pre­
 12

pared by Raven 1. McDavid, Jr., for Boiseite, and Webster's Third 12 Letters
EditlOn for Seattlelte). 1 am an Etiennelte!
N.A. GILLIGAN. ~n English name probably borne by someone, There arE
somewhere, sometime. If not, it lS walting to be approprtated. ters - ADA V
Should no one ever appear to claim the name, so much the better: ADAVEN,
its pristine purity wll1 remain undeftled by use. mi les north
NELLA ALLEN. A heroine in Kathleen Wmsor's Wanderers East­ of the Huml
ward, Wanderers West (New York: Random House, 1965). daries of t
RESUFFUSER. One who or that which suffuses again - a simple sect ion. ThE
deri va ti ve of the common verb suffuse. edly, an i
11 Letters of the pali1
of NYALA,
There are 10 qual ity Engl ish word palindromes of 11 letters: tion of abl:::
BLAKE DEKALB EDNA LALANDE NORAH SHARON plus ALA),
DEED/NONDEED LEVlTATl VEL RE-REPAPERER African ant
DETARTRATED NOON/NON NOON SENSUOUSNES (Webster's
DUANE RENAUD common on
ha ve disa PI
BLAKE DEKALB, DUANE RENAUD, EDNA LALANDE, and NORAH SHAR­ happened to
ON. These are, once agaln, excellent English names which may REDNESS
a 1ready have been a ppropriated for use by specific indivlduals, tion for an
or which may be so a pproprta ted at some future time. Either way, eliminate sk
they eXlst as eternal archetypes or prototypes, as ideal forms
of the palindrome. Longer Palii
DEED/NONDEED. A compound adjective describing a property trans­ 1 would
fer which may be accompltshed elther with or wlthout a conveyance with the 1:
by deed. is in compe
DETARTRA TED. Sepa ra ted from, or free of, tarta nc aCld. The substantial1
word is a slmple dertvative of the dlctionary adjectlve TARTRATED, concepts lr
which means the exact opposlte. In many ways, DETARTRATED lS being repro
the finest palindrome the Engltsh language has to offer: its crown­ Since Engli
ing ach ievement m the £leI d of word pal indromy. other langu
LEVITATlVEL. This II-letter paltndrome appears only as part
of the I2-letter word LEVlTATlVELY (" m a levitative manner"). Qual­ CI VIC/Nm
ity word palindromes of ll-letter length are so rare that they ob liga tions:
deserve to be recognlz.ed even if they exist only in a bound state and all oth
(somewhat like the quarks of partlcle physics). GREGORY,
NOON/NONNOON. A compound adjec ti ve descrt bmg events which name Roger
may take place either at noon or at other times. A businessman LEVEL/NO
may, for instance, ask hlS secretary for a list of his noon/nonnoon s i ty of ten
appointments for the coming week. The word lS the longest one where the g
in English using only two letters of the alphabet without also RADAR/NO
being a tautonym; the two letters are, moreover, alphabetlcally tection of
adjacent and in the last half of the alphabet, so that the word the use of (
rivals NONSUPPORTS as the longest last-half word. ROGER G
RE-REPAPERER. One who or thal which repapers again - a slmple Puzzlers LI
I

deri va ti ve of the common word (and palindrome) REPAPER. DEIFIED/l

SENSUOUSNES. This l1-letter pahndrome, like LEVITATlVEL, ap­ classes of
pears only as part of a 12-letter word, SENSUOUSNESS. Though status of dE
in a bound state, it is equally remarkable and worthy of inclusion GOLDENRO
here. forest by
grown by
 13
Ister's Third 12 Letters

by someone, There are only two quality English word palindromes of 12 let­
ppropnated. ters - ADAVEN, NEVADA and REDNESS ENDER.
the better: ADAVEN, NEVADA. A location in Nye County, Nevada, a bout 125
miles north of Las Vegas. It is insIde the southernmost section
::!erers East­ of the Humboldt National Forest, near one of the east-west boun­
daries of that section, on a dirt road running through the forest
- a simple sectlOn. The name ADAVEN is a reversal of the state name; undoubt­
edly, an intentional reversal, detracting slightly from the value
of the palmdrome. About 12 miles northwest of Adaven is the town
of NYALA, also an interesting name. Interpretable as a combina­
etters: tion of abbreviations for the states of New York and Alabama (NY
plus ALA), the name is actually that of several southern or eastern
African antelopes, commonly b 1u ish-gray with fa in t wh 1te mark ings
(Webster's Th ird Editlon) . The names ADA VEN and NY ALA were
common on maps of Nevada publ ished in the 1960s and 1970s, but
have disappeared from the maps of the 1980s. 1 wonder what has
WRAH SHAR- happened to these 10catlOns.
which may REDNESS ENDER. A factual, and happily pal indromic, designa­
indIviduals, tion for an ointment or other medication which acts to reduce and
Either way, elimina te sk in inflammations. A superb potential brand name!
Ideal forms
Longer Palindromes
perty tra ns­ would be content to end my list of English word palindromes
conveyance with the 12-letter examples just presented. Unfortunately, English
is in competition with other European languages capable of forming
acid. The substantially longer Single-word palindromes because compound
TARTRATED, concepts in those languages are customarily unified instead of
iRTRATED 1S being represented by two-or-more-word ph rases as In Eng IlSh.
: 1tS crown­ Since Engl ish is under a categorical imperative to surpass all
other languages, an imperative that cannot be denied, I continue.
ly as part
ler"). Qual­ Cl VIC/NONCI VIC (13). A compound adjective describmg personal
that they obligations: both those connected with the 1ndividual' s cItizenship
bound state and all others.
GREGORY, ROGER G. (13). The telephone-directory form of the
lents wh ich name Roger G. Gregory.
bus ines sman LEVEL/NONLEVEL (13). A compound adjective describing a diver­
loon/non noon sity of terrains: both those where the ground is level and those
longest one where the ground 1S sloping or hilly.
vithout also RADAR/NONRADAR (13). A compound adJective describing the de­
phabetlcally tection of distant objects both by means of radar and through
1t the word the use of other detection devices.
ROGER G. M'GREGOR (13). The pseudonym, withm the National
I - a sImple Puzzlers League, of the noted English palindromi st Leigh Mercer.
I

DE 1Fl ED/NONDE 1FI ED (17). A compound adJective describing two

.TlVEL, ap­ classes of culture heroes: those who have been elevated to the
~SS. Though status of deities, and those who have rema1ned mere heroes.
of inc! usion GOLDENROD-ADORN ED LOG (19). A log left on the ground in the
forest by lumberjacks - one which has subsequently been over­
grown by the gaily-colored goldenrods springmg up beside it.
 1 4

In languages such as German, Dutch and Finmsh, one solidly­

century BC
written palindromic word would suffice to express th1S ennobhng
NEDERTR
concept.
KORNETT
DETANNATED/NONDE1ANNATED (23). A compound adject1ve descnbing
in the Du
two classes of chemical substances: those which have been separ­
PART ERR
ated from tannic acid, and those which have not been so separated.
ATT ORr::
DETARTRATED/NONDETARTRATED (25). A compound adjectlVe de­
machy, to
scribing two classes of chemical substances: those Wh1Ch have
RELI EFP
been separated from tartaric acid, and those which have not been
with relief
so sepa ra ted.
SAIPPUAl
The Webste ria n pa 11nd rom ic effort merits or requires a footnote. PART ERR
The longest solidly-written palindrome in Webster's Second EdItion g round-flo<
(MALAYALAM, a Dravidian language of southwestern India), and SA IPPUAI
the longest such pahndrome in Webster's Third EdltlOn (KINNI­
Further
KINNIK, a smoking mixture used by American Indians In the Ohio
valley) do not qualify for recognition as English words. Each
palindrome is, essentially, a tautonym; 1S derived from a language A NE
far beyond the Indo-European pale; and conveys an extremely The
uncommon mean1ng I estimate that neither word 1S one of the $19.9
50,000 most common Enghsh words. Many other pa linclromes have 1S ar
fallen by the wayside for the same or similar reasons. of u
Foreign Word Palindromes aFwaj
Chine
Listed below, for comparative purposes, are the 22 h1ghest-qual­ but i
ity fore1g n-Iang uage pa lindromes that I have encoun tered 1n th ree major
decades of searchmg for them. My list begins with 8-letter exam­ sente,
ples, since shorter palindromes are reasonably common 1n many I co
fore ign languages. and
DOORROOD (8). A deep red: red th rough and through (Dutch). rathe
GWALLAWG (8). A masculine first name (Welsh). neigh
OOCOOCOO (8). The wild turkey (Cherokee Ind1an). L took this one (
word and its definitlOn from an old issue of The Emgma, but have lops,
not had an opportunity to verify it in a d1ctionary of the Chero­ For r
kee language. of al
OTTO-OTTO (8). In music, eight-eight time (Italian). posit 1
ANINANINA (9). Giddy (Maori). score.
ANONANONA (9). The ant (Hawaiian).
MAR KTKRAM ( 9 ) . Ret a i1 goo d s 0 r sma 11 war e s sol d 1n a mar k e t The
(German). the
NEPPOPPEN (9). Imitation dolls (Dutch). The deftnlt10n d1sturbs Campi
me: since dolls are imitation humans, what are imitations of 1m lta­ broug
tions of humans - real humans? were
RECONOCER (9). To submit to the command or jurisdiction of the ~
others (Spanish). R tra,
REGNINGER (9). Calculations or computations (Danish. Norweglan).
RESSASSER (9). To dwell or harp on; to repeat (French).
REGALLAGER (10). A warehouse or storehouse for portable (musIc)
organs (German).
SIMILLIMIS (10). Very similar, or most simllar: the dative plural
form of the adjective SIMILIS (Latin).
MASSINISSAM (11). The accusative Singular_form of MASSINISSA,
an alternate spelling of MASINISSA, a Numidlan king in the second
 15
one sol idly­ century BC allied with Rome (Latin).
LS ennob hng NEDERTREDEN (11). To step or walk down (Dutch).
KORNETTENROK (12). The dress coat of a servant to an officer
e descn bIng in the Dutch East Indian army (Dutch). In English, by contrast,
been separ­ PARTERRETRAP (12). A ground-floor stairway (Dutch).
:> separated. ATT ORDIDROTTA (3). To contest with words: to engage in logo­
jjectl ve de­ machy, to logomachize (Swedish).
whIch have RELlEFPFEILER (3). An architectural column or pillar decorated
Lve not been with reliefs (German).
SAIPPUAKAUPPIAS OS). A soap dealer (Finnish).
a footnote. PARTERRESERRETRAP (17). A stairway leading to an enclosed
cond EdItIon ground-floor back porch or veranda (Dutch).
IndIa), and SAIPPUAKIVIKAUPPIAS (9). A dealer in lye (Finnish).
tlOn (KINNI- Further affiant saith not.
In the Ohio
words. Each
1 a language
In extremely
.
A NEW WORD LIST
The Complete Word Game Dictionary (Facts on File, 1984;
; one of the $19. 95 in hardcover), by Tom Pulliam and Gorton Carruth,
dromes have is an alphabetical list of 185, 000 words taken from a variety
of unspecified dictionaries. It conta ins no words that are
always capitalized (though sometimes capitalized words like
China or Argentine do appear), relatively few s-plurals,
lighest-qual­ but a considerable number of -ed and -ing verb forms. its
'red In three major shortcoming is the fact that long words are underrepre­
-letter exam­ sented compared with the typical unabridged dictlOnary;
lOn in many I could find only two 19-1etter ones, straightforwardness
and incommensurableness, and five 18-letter ones. (Some
(Dutch). rather common shorter words also didn I t make it, such as
neighborliness and crystallography.) On the other hand,
1 took this one can find a number of logological old friends lil<.e aegi­
na, but have lops, nastaliq, stolkjaerre, tch, muzjik, oii and euouae.
)f the Chero­ For me, the book 1 s strongest feature is the separate listing
of all words containing J, Q, X or Z by word-length, by
position of the rare letter in the word, and by Scrabble
score.
in a market The book 1S typographically identical to one published by
the same authors seven years earlier under the name The
tion dIsturbs Complete Scrabble Dictionary. A s the result of legal actlOn
ons of Imlta- brought by Selchow & Righter, all but a handful of copies
were destroyed. The authors have been careful to sanitize
Irisdlction of the Scrabble name in this book with the clrcle-around-an­
R trademark symbol.
NorwegIan) .
:h) .
table (musIc)

dative plural

MASSI NISSA ,
Ln the second