Wow! Mom, Dad, Pop, Bob, Sis, Gig, Lil, Ava, Eve — all these folks have names that are palindromes. A palindrome is a word (or phrase) that is the same spelled forwards or backwards.
So what is a semordnilap? Well, for one thing, it is palindromes spelled backwards.
A semordnilap is a word (or phrase) that when spelled backwards is a different word (or phrase). For example, pacer and recap are semordnilaps.
Here are a few in sentences:
- I could tell he was the gateman by his nametag.
- I don’t think I would want to swap my hands for paws!
- That must be a regal lager from its high price!
- I can’t believe I faced the day with decaf instead of espresso.
- When I am stressed, I need a couple of desserts.
And for those fans of afternoon television, Harpo Studios is owned by Oprah. And that is no coincidence.
One of the top 100 girls’ names of 2020 was Nevaeh. Spell that one backwards.
The term semordnilap first appeared in C.C. Bombaugh’s 1961 book, Oddities and Curiosities of Words and Literature.
Here are a few more:
- I think I repaid you for the diaper box I brought you.
- How can we live with such evil?
- The engineers were mad when the dam broke. Right, madam?
- He didn’t want to deliver his speech for fear of being reviled.
When two “semos” are joined, they will always result in a palindromic phrase: Try some of this edam made in The Netherlands.
A couple of other fun facts:
- A calendrome is a palindromic date: 2/15/12 or 2002
- The longest palindrome in the Oxford English Dictionary is tattarrattat. It is an interjection coined by James Joyce, and is “a knock on the door.”
Wow! So what is the word for a palindrome that is another palindrome when you turn the letters upside down??????
I think it is “An ambigram”
You just KNOW that somebody has created a word for it, don’t you?
If course! Can you think of any others?
Your post reminds me of the wonderful palindrome chapters in Barbara Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible.
A while back I met a woman named Hannah, and I asked if she had an h on the end of her name. She said “Yes! I’m a palindrome.” Other than obvious short names – Anna, Bob, Nan, Lil – do you have a collection of lengthier, more complicated palindrome names?
Thank you for the comment – and the palindrome. I do not have a list of other palindromic names, but I am sure one can be found.