boustrophédon

== French == === Etymology === Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek βουστροφηδόν (boustrophēdón, literally “turning like an ox”), in reference to the back-and-forth course traced by boustrophedon text resembling the path taken by an ox ploughing a field. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /bus.tʁɔ.fe.dɔ̃/ === Noun === boustrophédon m (plural boustrophédons) (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) Synonym: boustrophe ==== Descendants ==== → Romanian: bustrofedon === Adjective === boustrophédon (feminine boustrophédon or (dated) boustrophédone or (rare) boustrophédonne, masculine plural boustrophédons, feminine plural boustrophédons or (dated) boustrophédones or (rare) boustrophédonnes) (epigraphy) boustrophedonic (written as a boustrophedon, such that the text directionality alternates on each line, resulting in a continuous stream of characters spanning multiple lines) Synonyms: boustrophédonique, (rare) boustrophé, boustrophédonien === Further reading === “boustrophédon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012