bou·stro·phe·don

(bo͞o′strə-fēd′n, -fē′dŏn′)

An ancient method of writing in which the lines are inscribed alternately from right to left and from left to right.

[From Greek boustrophēdon, turning like an ox while plowing : bous, ox; see g^wou- in Indo-European roots + strophē, a turning (from strephein, to turn; see streb(h)- in Indo-European roots).]

bou·stroph′e·don′ic (-strŏf′ĭ-dŏn′ĭk) adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

boustrophedon

(ˌbuːstrəˈfiːdən; ˌbaʊ-)

adj

(Literary & Literary Critical Terms) having alternate lines written from right to left and from left to right

[C17: from Greek, literally: turning as in ploughing with oxen, from bous ox + -strophēdon from strephein to turn; see strophe]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

bou•stro•phe•don

(ˌbu strəˈfid n, -ˈfi dɒn, ˌbaʊ-)

n.

a method of writing in which the lines run alternately from right to left and from left to right.

[1775–85; < Greek boustrophēdón literally, like ox-turning (in plowing) =boûs ox + -strophē (see strophe)]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

boustrophedon - an ancient writing system: having alternate lines written in opposite directions; literally `as the ox ploughs'

orthography, writing system - a method of representing the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols

Translations

βουστροφηδόν γραφή

boustrophédon

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Cite to me the virtues of the vertical boustrophedon, the treasures of the number ziruph and those of the number zephirod!"

View in context

(25) The alternation of a line left to right to left followed by a line right to left is an archaic form of writing called "boustrophedon," literally, "the turning of an ox" while plowing.

How to Kill a Sphinx

(14) As a brief indication of both the text's erudition and its reach into popular culture, it contains references to Pacific genealogies, to the muppets (a chapter titled 'Pigs in Space') and to Pascal's wager, alongside a discussion of Rapa Nui's rongorongo boustrophedon ...

Redeeming the Redeemer: Representations of an Indigenous Christ in James K. Baxter's 'The Maori Jesus', Patricia Grace's Potiki and Moetai Brotherson's Le Roi absent

Autonomous underwater vehicle missions were of standard boustrophedon, or "lawnmower," design, composed of 10 parallel north to south lines of 750 m in length spaced apart by 2 m in a manner consistent with previous AUV-based scallop studies (Walker et al.

ESTIMATES OF SEA SCALLOP (PLACOPECTEN MAGELLANICUS) INCIDENTAL MORTALITY FROM PHOTOGRAPHIC MULTIPLE BEFORE--AFTER-CONTROL--IMPACT SURVEYS

BCE pinax from Marciliana d' Agua (Grosseto) in Etruria recording the Greek alphabet in boustrophedon, probably an abecedary, supports this view.

"You give me letters instead of money?" Commercial transactions in the Near East and the Western Mediterranean ca. 1100-600 BCE: social innovation and institutional inhibition of Phoenician commerce/ "Me das letras em vez de dinheiro?" Transacoes comerciais no Oriente Proximo e no Mediterraneo Ocidental por volta de 1100-600 a.C.: inovacao social e inibicao institucional do comercio fenicio

Standard patterns include those such as spiral and serpentine/grid (boustrophedon motion) [4, 5].

An Efficient Energy Constraint Based UAV Path Planning for Search and Coverage

The survey design that we used most often comprised a series of parallel boustrophedon lines, commonly known as a "lawn mower" pattern.

Assessing the use of a camera system within an autonomous underwater vehicle for monitoring the distribution and density of sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) in the Mid-Atlantic Bight

The direction of writing was not fixed either: left-to-right (e.g., Sinai 345), right-to-left (e.g., Sinai 349), vertical (e.g., Sinai 367), boustrophedon (e.g., Sinai 346), and combination (e.g., Sinai 357) orders are all attested.

Sinai 357: a Northwest Semitic votive inscription to Tessob

In our study, we used the boustrophedon decomposition method (4).

Keeping ground robots on the move through battery & mission management