6-Year-Old Invents Word. You Can Help Him Get It Added To The Dictionary

A six-year-old has invented a new word and now, a campaign to get the word in the dictionary is viral. Canada's Levi Budd came up with the word "levidrome" to describe a word that spells another word when spelt backwards. Truth be told, our favourite levidrome is "stressed" which is "desserts" spelt backwards. Other examples include loop and pool, flow and wolf, stop and pots and finally, rats and star.

While it's surprising that there's not a word for this already, the Internet is rallying behind young Levi after an editor at Oxford Dictionaries suggested the word could only be added to dictionaries after it was used commonly over a period of time.

Levi's father, Robert Lucky Budd, in a short video on YouTube explained the genesis of the word levidrome.

One day, sitting in the backseat of the car, Levi noticed the word "stop" on a stop sign read "pots" in reverse. 

The precocious kid then asked his parents what to call a word that spells another word backwards.

His parents had no answer. 

Turns out, there is no term for this. (And before you rush to say palindrome, that's a word which spells the exact same word in reverse, such as: "wow", "noon", "mom", "civic" and "redder".)



Actor William Shatner of Star Trek fame petitioned Oxford Dictionaries to add Levi's word to the dictionary. 
 

Dearest @OxfordWords I just sent you an email about #Levidromes - a word that when spelled backwards, turns into a different yet valid english word for addition to your dictionary. Please see: https://t.co/5SlvhaMP3U for more info on this new exciting word! Bill pic.twitter.com/udcZN7psOG

— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) November 8, 2017

"Alas," Oxford Dictionaries lamented in a blog post, "levidrome still needs to demonstrate widespread and sustained use over time before dictionaries can formally add it to its pages, but (William) Shatner, no doubt, helped boost the coinage's signal."

Rebecca Jaganaru, an assistant editor with Oxford, replied to Levi on Twitter promising, "If, in a year or so, lots of people are still using your word, it might well get into our dictionary."
 

#Levidrome, a name for a word which makes a different word when spelled backwards, was brought to our attention by @Lucky_Budd and @WilliamShatner a couple of weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/nXhfbVlAE7

— Oxford Dictionaries (@OxfordWords) November 23, 2017

And just like that, the Internet was up for a challenge:
 

I am* now* happy to deliver* & debut* a recap* on the dream of a smart* boy* who took a stab* at* what he* saw* in words. He* will try to sway* your "mined*". Keep* using #Levidrome in your Twitter flow*. Don't stop* & he will nab* his just desserts* & reward*! *=a Levidrome  https://t.co/mkIqekRtyZ

— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) November 23, 2017

 

i will post a #levidrome every day so that webster adds it in the dictionary

— (@vischion) November 26, 2017

 

I love palindromes. Now I have added the term 'levidrome' to my lexicon, thanks to a 6 year old named Levi Budd. Thanks Levi, I hope to see your new term in everyday parlance in Parliament! #Victoria https://t.co/iVSkYV1j7d

— Dan Albas (@DanAlbas) November 23, 2017

 

Great word, though a tad disappointed that levidrome is not, itself a levidrome... https://t.co/HFhtjDzOvT

— Antony Phillipson (@AJPhillipson) November 24, 2017

 

Who knew there was not a word for this! ? Takes an inquisitive kid!!

— Liseanne Gillham (@liseanneg) November 24, 2017

"Levidrome" has become the first word featured on Oxford's Weekly Word Watch. It has also been added to Merriam-Webster's open-source dictionary of user-submitted words and the crowd-sourced Urban Dictionary online.

Now go and help Levi by using the word "levidrome" in your daily life.