Palindromic Letter-Sequences

Authors

Leslie E. Card
A. Ross Eckler

Abstract

There are about 7800 different trigrams which occur in words listed in boldface in Webster's Second Edition, making it feasible to compile a dictionary of types. Approximately 80 per cent of these trigrams (those appearing in Webster's Collegiate) were published in the August 1969, November 1969 and November 1970 Word Ways; since that time, Philip Cohen of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania has discovered examples for most of the remaining Websterian trigrams, as well as others in Webster's Third. However, a type of dictionary for tetragrams or longer letter-sequences is a far more laborious undertaking, requiring the assistance of a high-speed digital computer; for example, it is likely that more than half a million different seven-letter sequences exist. Consequently, one must focus attention on long letter-sequences having interesting properties.

Recommended Citation

Card, Leslie E. and Eckler, A. Ross (1974) "Palindromic Letter-Sequences," Word Ways: Vol. 7 : Iss. 1 , Article 8.
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/wordways/vol7/iss1/8