An inquisitive six-year-old boy from British Columbia has come up with a new word for something that most people have probably encountered in the lives, but never thought to ask if there was a term for.
According to young Levi Budd, a "levidrome" is the name for a word that, when spelled backwards, forms a new word.
Many people are aware of palindromes, which are words or phrases that are formed whether spelled forwards or backwards, such as "racecar" or "taco cat."
But what about the fact that "stop" spelled backwards makes the word "pots?" Or that "dog" backwards spells "god?"
That's where the term "levidrome" would come in handy.
So, Lucky Budd, the father of the precocious six-year-old who has been an avid reader since the age of three, decided to pitch the term, named for Levi but pronounced lev-ih-drome, to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
And although Merriam-Webster told the Budds that a word needs to be used regularly in the lexicon before it can be added to the dictionary, it's not slowing Budd down.
In fact, celebrities, including William Shatner and Patricia Arquette, have embraced the new term, and are determined to get the youngster's term trending enough to be considered in the future.
A video featuring the young wordsmith and his dad explaining his creation and why it should be included in the dictionary is also racking up views on YouTube:
Now, Oxford Dictionaries has responded with a video message for Budd and his supporters. And while they're not including "levidrome" in their dictionaries just yet, they've added it to a list of potential new words, and will review it in a year to see if enough people are using it to warrant including it.
Oxford Dictionaries seems pretty impressed with the term's progress in just five short weeks, and considers the word "well on its way" to being included.
But if social media has its way, we'll soon be seeing and using the useful term as part of everyday life.
Pretty impressive:
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.