Boustrophedon

Boustrophedon is a classical style of writing manuscripts in which, rather than going from left to right as in modern English, or right to left as in Arabic, alternate lines go in opposite directions. The name is derived from the Greek for "ox plowing", because the pen goes back and forth, like an ox drawing a plow.

The term is occasionally used to describe the motion of certain dot matrix computer printers. In that case, while the print head moves in opposite directions on alternate lines, the printed text is not in boustrophedon format.