# What's the longest pair of English words that spell each other backwards? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083 "2011-08-01T19:00:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/1 "2011-08-01T19:00:42Z")
You know, like STRESSED and DESSERTS. Any other examples? (And no, I don’t count “Serutan” as a word.) Also, is there a name for this? Complementary palindromes? Mirror-image words? ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/2 "2011-08-01T19:10:31Z")
Perhaps “semordnilap” and “palindromes” > **[Palindrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palindrome#Semordnilap)** > > A palindrome is a word, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards, such as madam or racecar, the date and time 12/21/33 12:21, and the sentence: "A man, a plan, a canal – Panama". The 19-letter Finnish word saippuakivikauppias (a soapstone vendor), is the longest single-word palindrome in everyday use, while the 12-letter term tattarrattat (from James Joyce in Ulysses) is the longest in English. > The word palindrome was introduced by English poet an... ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/3 "2011-08-01T19:22:03Z")
> [@brazil84](#): > > Perhaps “semordnilap” and “palindromes” > > [Palindrome - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palindrome#Semordnilap) ‘Retartrated’ is a real word that is the opposite of its evil twin ‘Detartrated’ and it ties. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/4 "2011-08-01T19:31:17Z")
I found _rewarder_ and _redrawer_, but those are the same length (8 letters) as your example. My source is a [Scrabble dictionary](http://homepage.ntlworld.com/adam.bozon/Dictionary.htm) that I found on-line. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/5 "2011-08-01T20:21:00Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > ‘Retartrated’ is a real word that is the opposite of its evil twin ‘Detartrated’ and it ties. I challenge that statement ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/6 "2011-08-01T20:22:28Z")
At the bottom of [this page from “A Collection of Word Oddities and Trivia”](http://jeff560.tripod.com/words5.html), a bunch of reversed pairs of words are listed. The only eight-letter pairs appear to be _desserts/stressed_, _redrawer/rewarder_, _departer/retraped_ (odd spelling there), and _dioramas/samaroid_ (_samaroid_ meaning shaped like a [samara](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samara_(fruit)).) ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/7 "2011-08-01T20:31:43Z")
I wasn’t sure if **Bytegeist** did an exhaustive scan through that dictionary, but it looks like so. In full: ```auto 8 LETTERS (2) desserts/stressed, redrawer/rewarder 7 LETTERS (6) deifier/reified, deliver/reviled, dessert/tressed, gateman/nametag, reknits/stinker, sallets/stellas 6 LETTERS (42) agenes/senega, animal/lamina, animes/semina, degami/imaged, denier/reined, denies/seined, depots/stoped, derats/stared, dewans/snawed, dialer/relaid, diaper/repaid, dormin/nimrod, drawer/reward, elides/sedile, eviler/relive, gelder/redleg, levins/snivel, looter/retool, pupils/slipup, recaps/spacer, redips/spider, redraw/warder, reflet/telfer, reflow/wolfer, reknit/tinker, remeet/teemer, rennet/tenner, repins/sniper, repots/stoper, retros/sorter, scares/seracs, secret/terces, selahs/shales, skeets/steeks, sleeps/speels, sleets/steels, sloops/spools, snoops/spoons, spirts/strips, sports/strops, sprits/stirps, struts/sturts 5 LETTERS (86) 4 LETTERS (151) 3 LETTERS (135) 2 LETTERS (22) ``` ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/8 "2011-08-01T20:41:38Z")
> [@Pasta](#): > > I wasn’t sure if **Bytegeist** did an exhaustive scan through that dictionary … _I checked it [**very** thoroughly.](http://sv-fortytwo.com/hhgttg42.html)_ ---
**Author:** ![Deegeea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Deegeea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deegeea)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/9 "2011-08-01T21:32:37Z")
the “tartrate” stuff came from here, perhaps? [http://cosmos.phy.tufts.edu/mhonarc/palindrome/msg00670.html](http://cosmos.phy.tufts.edu/mhonarc/palindrome/msg00670.html) Shagnasty probably meant “detartrater” in place of “detartrated” I’m unsure if I’d count either as a real word. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/10 "2011-08-02T10:01:53Z")
> [@Deegeea](#): > > the “tartrate” stuff came from here, perhaps? > > [Re: [Palindrome] This American Life alert](http://cosmos.phy.tufts.edu/mhonarc/palindrome/msg00670.html) > > Shagnasty probably meant “detartrater” in place of “detartrated” > > I’m unsure if I’d count either as a real word. That page is an article by Dmitri Borgmann, who was something else when it came to word play. He may have thought he was coining **detartrated** or perhaps just figured chemists could potentially use it, but it turns out the word has an actual meaning and use in the processing of fruit juice. Look at the link **MikeS** gave – up near the top is some info. You can probably find more by googling “detartrated grape juice”. As far as retartrated/detartrater, yeah, those are a bit questionable. You’re unikely to find any legitimate uses on the net, but the same is true of **redivider** , and lots of people think that’s a valid palindrome. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/11 "2011-08-02T10:14:51Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > ‘Retartrated’ is a real word that is the opposite of its evil twin ‘Detartrated’ and it ties. > [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](#): > > I challenge that statement Retartrated and detartrater are the pair that work; their colleagues detartrated and retartrater are grden variety palindromes. But, **Shag** , you’ll shoot yourself at not remembering the term for these pairs – its on;y other use is in organic chem. They’re _ **enantiomorphs** _. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/12 "2011-08-02T21:18:37Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Retartrated and detartrater are the pair that work; That seems more possible. Thanks for clearing that up. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/13 "2011-08-03T04:36:20Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Retartrated and detartrater are the pair that work; their colleagues detartrated and retartrater are grden variety palindromes. > > But, **Shag** , you’ll shoot yourself at not remembering the term for these pairs – its on;y other use is in organic chem. > > They’re _ **enantiomorphs** _. You’re a genius! _ **enantiomorphs and shpromoitnane** _! Wait… ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/14 "2011-08-03T14:46:19Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > You’re a genius! _ **enantiomorphs and shpromoitnane** _! > > Wait… What would be **really** cool is if your real name was Margo L. L’Elehcar. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/15 "2011-08-04T05:30:05Z")
Quoth **Polycarp** : > [@](#): > > But, Shag, you’ll shoot yourself at not remembering the term for these pairs – its on;y other use is in organic chem. > > They’re enantiomorphs. Believe it or not, I just completely independently stumbled upon this word in yet another context-- Solid geometry. See [Catalan solid - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_solid) The meaning is probably basically the same as the meaning in organic chem, though. ---
**Author:** ![notquitekarpov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@notquitekarpov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notquitekarpov)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-pair-of-english-words-that-spell-each-other-backwards/591083/16 "2011-08-04T11:03:19Z")
Nobody said they have to be in English. For instance, the longest palindrome in any language is koortsmeetsysteemstrook - Dutch for thermometer. Maybe this opens up fresh avenues for exploration?