1. is a word, phrase, number, or
other sequence of symbols or
elements, whose meaning
may be interpreted the same
way in either forward or
reverse direction.
2.
Palindromes date back at least to 79
AD, as a palindrome was found as a
graffito at Herculaneum, a city
buried by ash in that year. This
palindrome, called the Sator Square,
consists of a sentence written in
Latin: "Sator Arepo Tenet Opera
Rotas" ("The sower Arepo holds
with effort the wheels").
5.
aibohphobia – a joke word meaning "fear of
palindromes", deliberately constructed so as to be one
(various other words have been contrived along these
lines, such as ailihphilia, a love of palindromes, elihphile,
a lover of palindromes, etc.)
detartrated – past tense of “to detartrate”, a chemical
term meaning to remove tartrates; alternatively an
adjective indicating that tartrates have indeed been
removed (this is the longest English palindrome in
the Guinness Book of Records, though it is not listed in
dictionaries; it is, however, encountered in some
discussions of Concord grape juice )
kinnikinnik – variant (or common misspelling)
of kinnikinnick, a Native American smoking mixture
6.
deleveled - something that goes out of level
evitative – a grammatical case indicating fear or
aversion
Malayalam – a language of South India
redivider – someone or something that redivides (tied
for longest "real" palindrome that is not a proper noun
and that appears in English dictionaries)
releveler – (American spelling) someone or something
that levels again (tied for longest "real" palindrome that
is not a proper noun and that appears in English
dictionaries).
Rotavator – a type of machine for breaking up soil
(trademark)
7.
Adinida– a suborder of planktonic organisms
deified – past tense of "to deify", meaning to
consider as a god
Hagigah
murdrum – in old English law, a secret killing
Nauruan – the language spoken in Nauru
peeweep – a type of bird, often understood to be
a lapwing
racecar – a racing car
Reifier – someone who reifies (considers an
abstract concept to be real)
repaper – to cover again with paper
8.
reviver – someone or something that revives or
restores
rotator – a thing that rotates
seities – plural of seity, the essence of an individual
sememes – plural of sememe, the interpretation
given to a morpheme (a language unit)
Senones – an ancient people who lived in part of
what is now France
SIXAXIS – the name of the official PlayStation
3 controller
Soosoos – plural of soosoo, a type of dolphin
Zerorez - Registered trademark for a carpet
cleaning system (from Zero residue)
9.
degged - past tense of to deg, meaning to water a plant
denned – past tense of to den, meaning to live in a den
hallah – a variant of challah, a type of bread
traditionally eaten by Jews
Hannah - a female given name
mallam – in West Africa, a learned man
marram – a type of grass
pip-pip – an old-fashioned British word for good-bye
pull-up or pullup – an exercise in which one pulls
oneself up by the arms
redder – more red
10.
renner – an archaic variant of runner
revver – someone or something that revs (an
engine)
selles – plural of selle, an archaic word for a saddle
sesses – plural or third-person present tense of sess,
an archaic word for tax (a variant of assess)
succus – any of various liquids excreted by animals
or plants
Terret – a metal ring on a harness, through which
the reins pass
tirrit – according to Webster’s Dictionary (1913): "A
word from the vocabulary of Mrs. Quickly, the
hostess in Shakespeare’s Henry IV., probably
meaning terror"
tut-tut – a disapproving sound; to make such a
sound
11.
alala – a type of Hawaiian crow
alula – a structure forming part of a bird’s wing
arara – a type of Australian cockatoo; also a
Brazilian macaw
civic – relating to a city
Debed – to remove someone from a bed
deked – past tense of "to deke", meaning to deceive
(especially in ice hockey)
deled – past tense of "to dele", meaning to delete (a
passage of text)
dered – past tense of "to dere", an archaic word
meaning to harm
12.
Dewed – past tense of "to dew", meaning to cover
with dew
dexed – past tense of "to dex", meaning to drink
robotussin
Hamah – variant of Hama, a city in Syria
Igigi – a class of Sumerian gods
irori - traditional Japanese sunken fireplace
kaiak – variant of kayak
Kanak – a native of New Caledonia; also, short for
Kanakaole i.e. Hawaiian surname
kayak – a light Inuit canoe
Kazak – a member of a people inhabiting the
central Asian republic of Kazakhstan; their
language
13.
kelek – a type of raft used in the Middle East
level – various common meanings
Liril – a cosmetic soap popular in India
madam – a polite form of address for a woman
minim – a musical note having half the duration of
a full note
neven – "To name; to mention; to utter. [Obs.]"
(definition from Webster’s Dictionary, 1913)
put-up – deceitful, as in a put-up job
radar – a method of detecting objects using radio
waves (acronym from Radio Detection And
Ranging, so it’s self-defining too - i. e., the word
"bounces back" like a radar signal)
refer – various common meanings
14.
rotor – something that rotates
sagas – plural of saga, a long narrative story
semes – plural of seme, a linguistic element
seres – plural of sere, a series of stages of
ecological development
sexes – plural of sex
shahs – plural of shah, a former name for the
king of Iran
Sinis – variant of siris (q.v.)
siris – a type of tree; (with cap.) a figure in
Greek mythology
solos – plural of solo
15.
stats – contraction of statistics
stets – third-person present tense of "to stet",
meaning to indicate that a passage of text
should remain unchanged
stots – third-person present tense of "to stot",
meaning to leap or bounce
sulus – plural of sulu, a type of sarong
Susus – plural of Susu, a member of a West
African people
tenet – a belief or principle
16.
adda – a type of lizard;
Adda – a river in Italy; a river in Wales
affa – "A weight used on the Guinea coast,
equal to an ounce" (definition from Webster’s
Dictionary, 1828)
anna – an Indian coin
Anna – a girl’s name
Beeb – an informal name for the BBC
boob – a blunder; a breast
deed – various common meanings
17.
esse – existence or essence
goog – an egg (Australian slang)
immi – a Swiss unit of volume
keek – to peep
kook – a crazy person
ma'am – a contraction of madam
naan – a type of Indian bread
noon – midday
otto – variant of attar, an essential oil
Otto - a proper name
peep – various common meanings
poop – a raised deck at the stern of a ship; various
other meanings
sees – third-person present tense of ‘to see’
toot – the sound made by a horn or whistle
18.
aba – a fabric woven of the hair of camels or goats
aga – title for a civil or military leader, especially
in Turkey
aha – used to express surprise, pleasure or
triumph
ala – a wing or winglike structure or part
ama – a housemaid, especially a wet nurse, in
India and the Far East
ana – a collection of various materials that reflect
the character of a person or place, e.g. "early 1900’s
Americana"
Ara – a star constellation; a genus of macaws
19.
ava – a species of Macropiper (M. methysticum),
the long pepper, from the root of which an
intoxicating beverage is made by the Polynesians
Ava - a girl's name
awa – away (Official Scrabble Players Dictionary)
bib – a piece of cloth or plastic secured under the
chin and worn, especially by small children, to
protect the clothing while eating
bob – to float on the surface of water
Bob – shortened form of Robert, a boy’s name
bub – used as a term of familiar address, especially
for a man or boy ('See you around, bub.’)
dad – father
did – past tense of the verb "do"
20.
dud – something that doesn't work or succeed
eke – to obtain by great effort
eme – a distinctive unit of linguistic structure
ere – before (archaic or poetic)
eve – the period immediately preceding a certain
event
Eve – a girl’s name
ewe – a female sheep (ovine)
eye – the usual organ of sight
gag – something forced into or put over the mouth
to prevent speaking or crying out; the act or an
instance of gagging or choking
gig – a music event; also, a light two-wheeled
carriage
21.
gog – roof, covering
hah – a variation of "Ha!"
heh – used to express contempt; part of a snigger
("heh-heh")
huh – used to express interrogation, surprise,
contempt or indifference
mim – demure
mom – mother (American)
mum – mother (British); a reference to silence
(usually with "keep"; British)
nan – a variation of "nanny"
non – a prefix meaning "not" or "against"
nun – a female clergyman who practices celibacy
oho – used to express surprise, comprehension, or
mock astonishment
22.
omo – prefix; shoulder: omohyoid; also, a brand of
washing powder sometimes used as the generic
term for all washing powder
ono – "grief or strength or iniquity of him"
(Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary)
oxo – oxime
pap – a food made with warm milk and crumbled
bread
pep – energy and high spirits
pip – a seed; also, to get the better of
pop – a cola; also, to burst
pup – the young of any of various mammals
sis – shortened form of "sister"
sos – plural of "so", the fifth tone of the diatonic
scale in music
tat – tattoo
23.
tet – the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet
tit – a small bird (British); a breast (slang)
tot – a small child; a small quantity of liquid
tut – used to express annoyance, impatience or
mild reproof ("Tut, tut, child!")
wow – used to express amazement
yay – used to express happiness/delight
zzz – the sound of snoring
24.
aa – lava having a rough surface (pron. a’a’)
ee – an extinct Hawaiian bird (pron. e’e’)
mm – used to express satisfaction
oo – a rare Hawaiian bird (pronounced "ohoh"); also a Scottish word for "wool"; also "one"
(obs. Chaucerian English)