ouroboric

O1U1R1O1B3O1R1I1C3
US/ɔɹəˈbɔɹɪk/

adjective

Self-referring, self-reflexive, self-consuming; recursive

“Going back in time and becoming one's own grandfather is a rather ouroboric endeavour”

Scrabble 13

Meanings

adjectiveouroboric (comparative more ouroboric, superlative most ouroboric)

comparative more ouroboric · superlative most ouroboric · alternative uroboric

  1. Self-referring, self-reflexive, self-consuming; recursive
  2. Relating to the Ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail.

    Going back in time and becoming one's own grandfather is a rather ouroboric endeavour

    2 more examples

    What could be more ouroboric than members of the media who specialize in blaming the media.

    Like the ouroboric serpent which bites its own tail, the spinal column brings the mysteries of language and sexuality, mouth and genitals together.

    1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 17

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

Translations

Finnish rekursiivinen, kehämäinen
  • rekursiivinenself-referring, self-reflexive, self-consuming; recursive
  • kehämäinenself-referring, self-reflexive, self-consuming; recursive
Russian рекурсивный, уроборический
  • рекурсивный (rekursivnyj)self-referring, self-reflexive, self-consuming; recursive
  • уроборический (uroboričeskij)relating to Ouroboros
Spanish recursivo, urobórico
  • recursivoself-referring, self-reflexive, self-consuming; recursive
  • urobóricorelating to Ouroboros
Cite this entry
APA

ouroboric. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ouroboric

MLA

“ouroboric.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ouroboric. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ouroboric,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ouroboric.

Source: ouroboric on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.