palindrome

From Ancient Greek παλίνδρομος (palíndromos, “running back again”), from πάλιν (pálin, “back, again, back again”) + δρόμος (drómos, “running, race, racecourse”). By surface analysis, palin- +‎ -drome (compare also velodrome and syndrome).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpælɪndɹəʊm/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpælɪndɹoʊm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

palindrome (plural palindromes)

1. A word, phrase, number or any other sequence of units which has the property of reading the same forwards as it does backwards, character for character, sometimes disregarding punctuation, capitalization and diacritics.
   • 2017, Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird, spoken by Christine ‘Lady Bird’ McPherson:

     The only thing exciting about 2002 is that it's a palindrome.

2. (by extension) A poetic form in which the sequence of words reads the same in either direction.
3. (by extension) A sequence of items that follows the same pattern both forwards and backwards.
   • 1998, Dolores Pesce, Hearing the Motet, page 93:

     A conjunct palindrome from notes 5 to 11, D D E F E D D, abuts the only melodically disjunct group E G D (notes 12–14), and at the same time contributes to a melodic sequence with the opening four notes.

   • 2010, Mick Herron, Slow Horses, page 67:

     The shops opposite were a High Street palindrome — Korean gorocery, courier service, letting abgents, courier service, Korean grocery — and buses passed with noisy frequency.

   • 2015, Syne Mitchell, Inventive Weaving on a Little Loom:

     The color sequence in the palindrome skein is the same no metter whether you start from the left or right.

4. (genetics) A stretch of DNA in which the sequence of nucleotides on one strand are in the reverse order to that of the complementary strand

• aibohphobia
• anagram
• semordnilap

• (genetics): massive palindrome

• emordnilap, pramindole

Borrowed from Ancient Greek παλίνδρομος (palíndromos).

• IPA^(key): /pa.lɛ̃.dʁom/

• Audio

  (file)

palindrome m (plural palindromes)

1. palindrome

• “palindrome”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

palindrome f

1. feminine plural of palindromo

• imperlando