I have been looking for a word for years now. It’s general description is the “reverse writing” on the fronts of ambulances. I am NOT looking for multi-word descriptors such as mirror-writing, reverse writing, or anything similar, Myself, and a few others are convinced that such a word exists. My neverending thanks is yours for finding out said word. A non-existent thing cannot be proved to be non-existent, but I still have faith. I would seriously pay actual money to have this burden removed from my shoulders. dnooman@yahoo.com
The only suggestion I have is try to find the company that puts the signs on the ambulances, and ask them what they’re called.
I know that that’s not much help…
Sorry
Yeah,like palindrome. Don’t think there is one. Make one up, or get it from Latin/Greek, & it may catch on,as palindrome did.
Palindrome wasn’t made up - it is greek. Palindromos - “a running back again” of something…
I think the good doctor was suggesting that the word would be like palindrome, and separately saying that it would have to be made up. As I’ve never heard any term other than “mirror-writing,” and can’t find one on search, I think that he’s right on both counts. From palin, “backwards,” and graphos, “writing,” I suggest paligraphia.
From The Jargon File:
boustrophedon: n.
[from a Greek word for turning like an ox while plowing] An ancient method of writing using alternate left-to-right and right-to-left lines. This term is actually philologists’ techspeak and typesetters’ jargon. Erudite hackers use it for an optimization performed by some computer typesetting software and moving-head printers. The adverbial form ‘boustrophedonically’ is also found (hackers purely love constructions like this).
I think the word you’re looking for is ecnalubma.
Years ago, I saw a cartoon of some critter on the road looking into the distance and thinking “ecna…ecnalu?..ecnalubma?” <spat!>
May I suggest the tongue-twisting catoptrography, from the Greek katoptron meaning “mirror” and graphein meaning “to write”, along the lines of stenography, calligraphy etc.
I believe I’ve just made this up, and Google agrees with me. 
Hmm… looks like the medical profession prefers the boring retrography.
It does look as though “retrography” could be the word they use in the trade. This printing firm advertises it as one of its services; I don’t know if that is what it refers to though.
Nametag-you read me perfectly- I should have said"coin." Of course I knew palindrome was around. Like ecdysiast for stripper- coined by Mencken- an ecdysiast is an animal that molts.
r_k, a rose by any other name…screw the analogy, you have solved a question that has been on the “tip of my toungue” for several years. I cannot possibly express my thanks enough, now people know that I’m not crazy! Now if I could only get them to see those damn spiders!!!