A palindrome is a word, phrase, number or any other sequence of units (like a strand of DNA) which has the property of reading the same in either direction (the adjustment of spaces between letters is generally permitted). The word "palindrome" comes from the Greek words palin ("back") and dromos ("racecourse"). Writing literature in palindromes is an example of constrained writing.
According to Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue: English & How It Got That Way (p. 227): "Palindromes … are at least 2,000 years old. The ancient Greeks often put "ΝΙΨΟΝΑΝΟΜΗΜΑΤΑΜΗΜΟΝΑΝΟΨΙΝ" (or, in mixed case with [modern] accents and divided into words, Νίψον ανομήματα μη μόναν όψιν: "Nipson anomēmata mē monan opsin") on fountains (ps, ψ, is one letter in Greek, called psi), meaning "Wash the sin as well as the face." The Romans admired them, too, as demonstrated by "In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni" ("We enter the circle at night and are consumed by fire"), which was said to describe the behavior of moths..
The Latin palindrome "Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas" (roughly "The farmer by his labour keeps the wheels to the plough") is remarkable for the fact that it reproduces itself also if one forms a word from the first letters, then the second letters and so forth. Hence it can also be arranged into a square which can be read either horizontally or vertically:
S A T O R
A R E P O
T E N E T
O P E R A
R O T A S
Palindromes occur in many western languages, but they are particularly prevalent in English due to the wide variety and frequent reversal of letter pairs within words. Finnish, however, has been described as "the language of palindromes."
Japanese palindromes, called kaibun, rely on the hiraganasyllabary, like the word "shinbunshi" (newsprint). Their syllabary makes it possible to make very long palindromes.
Chinese palindromes are relatively easy to create due to the structure of written Chinese. For example: 我愛媽媽,媽媽愛我 ("I love Mom; Mom loves me")—this is usually the first palindrome learned by Chinese kids. Numerous palindromes can be created by replacing "媽媽"(Mom) with any person. As a result, only very special palindromes are worth mentioning.
Da keun do-ra-ji-il-ji-ra-do keun-da. (다 큰 도라지일지라도 큰다.) - Even full-grown balloonflower will grow.
Ga-ryeon-ha-si-da sa-jang-jip a-deul-ddal-deul-a jip-jang-sa da-si ha-ryeon-ga. (가련하시다 사장집 아들딸들아 집장사 다시 하련가.) - Pitiful are the president's siblings - will they come back to estate agentry?
The interlude from Alban Berg's opera, Lulu is a palindrome, as are sections and pieces, in arch form, by many other composers, including James Tenney (swell), and most famously Béla Bartók's (and influenced by him Steve Reich).
See also crab canon, in classical music: a canon in which one line of the melody is reversed in time and pitch from the other.
Zeus saw 'twas Suez! (a refutation of the above by Lee M)
Zeus, god, a dog, a plan, a canal, pagoda dog, Suez (J.Ramsey Michaels
A man, a plan, a canoe, pasta, heros, rajahs, a coloratura, maps, snipe, percale, macaroni, a gag, a banana bag, a tan, a tag, a banana bag again, or: a camel, a crepe, pins, spam, a rut, a Rolo, cash, a jar, sore hats, a peon, a canal -- Panama! (attributed to Guy Steele)
A man, a plan, a caret, a ban, a myriad, a sum, a lac, a liar, a hoop, a pint, a catalpa, a gas, an oil, a bird, a yell, a vat, a caw, a pax, a wag, a tax, a nay, a ram, a cap, a yam, a gay, a tsar, a wall, a car, a luger, a ward, a bin, a woman, a vassal, a wolf, a tuna, a nit, a pall, a fret, a watt, a bay, a daub, a tan, a cab, a datum, a gall, a hat, a fag, a zap, a say, a jaw, a lay, a wet, a gallop, a tug, a trot, a trap, a tram, a torr, a caper, a top, a tonk, a toll, a ball, a fair, a sax, a minim, a tenor, a bass, a passer, a capital, a rut, an amen, a ted, a cabal, a tang, a sun, an ass, a maw, a sag, a jam, a dam, a sub, a salt, an axon, a sail, an ad, a wadi, a radian, a room, a rood, a rip, a tad, a pariah, a revel, a reel, a reed, a pool, a plug, a pin, a peek, a parabola, a dog, a pat, a cud, a nu, a fan, a pal, a rum, a nod, an eta, a lag, an eel, a batik, a mug, a mot, a nap, a maxim, a mood, a leek, a grub, a gob, a gel, a drab, a citadel, a total, a cedar, a tap, a gag, a rat, a manor, a bar, a gal, a cola, a pap, a yaw, a tab, a raj, a gab, a nag, a pagan, a bag, a jar, a bat, a way, a papa, a local, a gar, a baron, a mat, a rag, a gap, a tar, a decal, a tot, a led, a tic, a bard, a leg, a bog, a burg, a keel, a doom, a mix, a map, an atom, a gum, a kit, a baleen, a gala, a ten, a don, a mural, a pan, a faun, a ducat, a pagoda, a lob, a rap, a keep, a nip, a gulp, a loop, a deer, a leer, a lever, a hair, a pad, a tapir, a door, a moor, an aid, a raid, a wad, an alias, an ox, an atlas, a bus, a madam, a jag, a saw, a mass, an anus, a gnat, a lab, a cadet, an em, a natural, a tip, a caress, a pass, a baronet, a minimax, a sari, a fall, a ballot, a knot, a pot, a rep, a carrot, a mart, a part, a tort, a gut, a poll, a gateway, a law, a jay, a sap, a zag, a fat, a hall, a gamut, a dab, a can, a tabu, a day, a batt, a waterfall, a patina, a nut, a flow, a lass, a van, a mow, a nib, a draw, a regular, a call, a war, a stay, a gam, a yap, a cam, a ray, an ax, a tag, a wax, a paw, a cat, a valley, a drib, a lion, a saga, a plat, a catnip, a pooh, a rail, a calamus, a dairyman, a bater, a canal - Panama! (Developed in 1984 by Dan Hoey with computer assistance).
To old Dallas, we Jews, all add loot. (J. Ramsey Michaels)
En af dem der red med fane: "One of those who rode with a flag"
Derivate: En af dem der nedrev Sannas verden, red med fane; "One of those who demolished Sanna's world, rode with a flag"
Gid da den dame sĺ de sřrens asner řse dĺsemad ned ad dig: "If only that lady saw those bastards pour canned food over you"
Skal Eva have laks?: "Does Eva want salmon?"
Da den netop retter poten nedad: "Because it's pointing its paw downwards"
Amok-igle redder elg i koma: "Amok-leech saves moose in coma"
Du lĺner en ĺl ud.: "You loan an eel"
Du er Freud: "You are Freud"
Vćr dog god, rćv!: "Be good now, fox!"
Se sĺ, René, smid du nu den rřde messing-nisse med řrnedun ud, dimsen er Ĺses.: "Look René, throw that red brass elf with eagle down (small feathers) out. The thing is Ĺse's."
nepparterreserretrappen (less serious extension of the previous): "fake stairways from the ground floor to the sun lounge"
Mooie zeden in Ede zei oom "Nice customs in Ede said uncle"
Baas, neem een racecar neem een Saab "Boss, use a racecar, use a Saab"
Nogawagon "Nougat wagon"
Lel "Earlobe"
Raar "Weird"
Koortsmeetsysteemstrook (Quoted by the Guinness Book of Records as the longest one-word palindrome in Dutch) "A strip which measures fever according to a certain system"
Isyys! Iloitkaamme? Emma, akti oli syysi!: "Fatherhood! Delighted to hear that? Emma, the intercourse was all your fault!"
Neekeriväki siivosi, ilo oli iso, viisi kävi rekeen.: "The negro folk cleaned up, there was much joy, five went into the sleigh." (Note that this might not be politically correct any more.)
The comedic ensemble Alivaltiosihteeri (literally: "State Undersecretary") has composed whole books of palindromic poems.
Rám német nem lel, elmentem én már: "The Germans won't find me, I'm already gone." (1943)
Indul a görög aludni: "The Greek goes to sleep."
Rémes tóga bagót sem ér: "Crap chiton worths nothing."
Erőszakos kannak sok a szőre: "Aggressive males have lots of hair."
Keresik a tavat a kis erek: "Small streams look for the lake."
Kis erek mentén, láp sík ölén odavan a bánya rabja: jaj, Baranyában a vadon élő Kis Pálnét nem keresik!: "Along the small streams and in the flat lap of the moorland gone the prisoner of the mine: oh, nobody looks for Ms. Kis Pál who lived in the woods of Baranya." (Created by Demők Béla.)
È Dio, lo gnomo mongoloide?: Is the mongoloid gnome God?
Avida di vita, desiai ogni amore vero, ma ingoiai sedativi, da Diva: "eager of life, I desired every real love, but I ended swallowing sedatives, as a Diva"
Autore, ero tua: "Author, I was yours".
Alle sei arida dirŕ "ies", ella.
I topi non avevano nipoti: "the mice had no grandsons".
Otto, l'ateo poeta, lottň: "Otto, the atheist poet, fighted".
Ero lŕ, cercai lě acre calore.
Oracolo caro: "dear oracle".
I nasi sani: "the healthy noses".
Angela, la fata, fa la legna: "Angela, the fairy, makes firewood".
A complete Palindrome poetry, written by Roberto Morassi:
Ode a Roma Dorata
O citta' nuova, ti balen'Amore,
l'arte t'annoda. Ci nuota, la sera,
Morte ideale. Vidi matto, ratto,
serrarti, Diva, i nitidi livelli
ma i lati d'Eva, no ! Nave d'Italia
mille vili ditini avidi trarre
sott'a'rottami di vela, e dietro
mare salato, unica donna: te!
Tra le romane l'abitavo, un attico....
A. Taro (d'amor aedo)
A play by Giancarlo Russo, made entirely of palindrome phrases: [1]
Alá, yo soy de Mahoma el dios. Oídle a Mohamed: yo soy Alá. "Allah, I am the God of Mahoma. Hear Muhammad: I am Allah."
O sacáis ropa por si acaso. "Or you take out some clothes, just in case"
Sometamos o matemos. "Let's submit or kill."
Oír Aida en ópera: la lírica Cirila la repone a diario. "To hear Aida in Opera: the Cirilic lyric replaces her daily."
Allí por la tropa portado, traído a ese paraje de maniobras, una tipa como capitán usar boina me dejara, pese a odiar toda tropa por tal ropilla. "There behaved by the troop, brought to that maneuvered place, a gal like a captain let me use beret, in spite of hating every troop by that cloth."
ˇA tu padre, cerda puta! "To your father, pig whore!"
Ni rakar bra, Karin: Meaning "You shave well, Karin"
Ni talar bra latin: Meaning "You speak good Latin"
Naturrutan: Meaning "The Nature Square"
Gnupung: Meaning "antelope-scrotum"
Varggrav: Meaning "wolf-grave"
Retsyster: Meaning "teasy sister"
Anne var i Ravenna: Meaning "Anne was in Ravenna"
God arab ĺt tĺ, bara dog: Meaning "Good Arab ate a toe, just died"
Moratös gav dem ett te med vag, söt arom: Meaning "Girl from Mora (the town where Vasaloppet ends) gave them a tea with vague, sweet scent"
Tre bra brassar bar Bert: Meaning "Three good Brazilians were carrying Bert"
Mus rev inuits öra, sa röst i universum: Meaning "Mouse scratched Inuit´s ear, said voice in universe"
Nej, leta i ateljén!: Meaning "No, search in the studio!"
I Reval sitta ni, inatt i slaveri: Meaning "In Reval (Tallinn) you will sit, tonight in slavery"
Sirap i Paris: Meaning "Syrup in Paris"
God apa gavs galna anlag, svag apa dog: Meaning "Good monkey was given crazy genetic disposition, weak monkey died." -- note that all the spaces match, which is rare for longer palindromes
Dallasmygelmadamlegymsallad: Meaning "A wangling lady in Dallas' green salad".
Märk stupid abrakadabra: ur fin ränsel lyfta rappa japaner samma mimosa som i mammas rena pajapparat fylles när ni fruar bada karbad i putskräm: Meaning "Note stupid abracadabra: from fine knapsack do swift Japanese lift the same mimosa as is filled in mother's clean pie machine when you wives bath tub-bath in shoe polish " (archaic style)
anropa aporna!: Meaning "Call the monkeys!".
Dromedaren Alpotto planerade mord: Meaning "Alpotto the dromedary was planning murder".
Some palindromes use words as units rather than letters. They Might Be Giants released a single called I Palindrome I (on the album Apollo 18), the lyrics of which include the word palindrome: "Son I am able," she said, "though you scare me." "Watch," said I, "beloved," I said, "watch me scare you though." Said she, "able am I, Son."
Other examples:
You can cage a swallow, can't you, but you can't swallow a cage, can you?
Fall leaves as soon as leaves fall.
Symmetry by the lines
Still other palindromes take the line as the unit. The poem Doppelganger, composed by James A. Lindon, is such a palindrome.
Doppelganger
Entering the lonely house with my wife
I saw him for the first time
Peering furtively from behind a bush --
Blackness that moved,
A shape amid the shadows,
A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes
Revealed in the ragged moon.
A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
Put him to flight forever --
I dared not
(For reasons that I failed to understand),
Though I knew I should act at once.
I puzzled over it, hiding alone,
Watching the woman as she neared the gate.
He came, and I saw him crouching
Night after night.
Night after night
He came, and I saw him crouching,
Watching the woman as she neared the gate.
I puzzled over it, hiding alone --
Though I knew I should act at once,
For reasons that I failed to understand
I dared not
Put him to flight forever.
A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
Revealed in the ragged moon.
A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes
A shape amid the shadows,
Blackness that moved.
Peering furtively from behind a bush,
I saw him for the first time,
Entering the lonely house with my wife.
The dialogue "Crab Canon" in Douglas Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach is nearly a palindrome-by-lines. The second half of the dialog is, with some very minor changes, the same lines as the beginning, in reverse order, spoken by the opposite characters (i.e., lines spoken by Achilles in the first half are spoken by the Tortoise in the second, and vice versa). In the middle is a non-symmetrical line spoken by the Crab, who enters and spouts some nonsense, apparently triggering the reversal. The structure is modeled after J. S. Bach's crab canon.
Symmetry of dates and times
Palindromes can also be constructed using dates and times. The exact dates and times may differ according to the local style of writing dates and times.
12/02/2021 for the 12th February of 2021, using the (DD/MM/YYYY) format; or the 2nd December of 2021, using the (MM/DD/YYYY) format
10/30/2002 03:01 for the 30th October 2002, 3:01 AM, using the (MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM) format
