Hmm. Defined as such, 'semordlinap' is a quine, yes.
There is just something forced about it. 'Semordnilap' is fairly obviously an invented word, created to describe words spelled backwards having their own (distinct) meaning. But are semordlinap quines valid if the backwards spelling must be newly defined as a word? I could take any random word, like 'random', and call it a semordlinap by the same logic that invented the word 'semordlinap': modnar. Pronunciable by English rules, sure, but does it have any meaning?
Are semantics important for well-formed quines? I'm not sure. '"Yields falsehood when quined" yields falsehood when quined' derives all of its semantic sense from its nature, but there are a lot of bad quines that follow English syntax but aren't particularly flavorful.
I agree that the dessert -> stressed and evil -> live constructions are elegant, but the word 'semordlinap' itself doesn't seem to cut it.
I would be truly staggered by a non-palindromic word that, spelled backwards, formed a different word with a synonymous or antonymous meaning. Evil -> live is vaguely there, but not quite.
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There is just something forced about it. 'Semordnilap' is fairly obviously an invented word, created to describe words spelled backwards having their own (distinct) meaning. But are semordlinap quines valid if the backwards spelling must be newly defined as a word? I could take any random word, like 'random', and call it a semordlinap by the same logic that invented the word 'semordlinap': modnar. Pronunciable by English rules, sure, but does it have any meaning?
Are semantics important for well-formed quines? I'm not sure. '"Yields falsehood when quined" yields falsehood when quined' derives all of its semantic sense from its nature, but there are a lot of bad quines that follow English syntax but aren't particularly flavorful.
I agree that the dessert -> stressed and evil -> live constructions are elegant, but the word 'semordlinap' itself doesn't seem to cut it.
I would be truly staggered by a non-palindromic word that, spelled backwards, formed a different word with a synonymous or antonymous meaning. Evil -> live is vaguely there, but not quite.