[boo-struh-feed-n, -fee-don, bou-] 
| an ancient method of writing in which the lines run alternately from right to left and from left to right. |
| bou·stro·phe·don (bōō'strə-fēd'n, -fē'dŏn') n. An ancient method of writing in which the lines are inscribed alternately from right to left and from left to right. [From Greek boustrophēdon, turning like an ox while plowing : bous, ox; see gwou- in Indo-European roots + strophē, a turning (from strephein, to turn; see streb(h)- in Indo-European roots).] bou·stroph'e·don'ic (-strŏf'ĭ-dŏn'ĭk) adj. |
boustrophedon
the writing of alternate lines in opposite directions, one line from left to right and the next from right to left. Some Etruscan texts are written in boustrophedon style, as are some Greek ones of about the 6th century BC. The word is from the Greek boustrophedon, meaning literally "to turn like oxen" (in plowing).
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