SINISTER-HANDED

21/9/2014

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ETYMOLOGY
from sinister: from Old French senestre, sinistre
(modern French sinistre, = Portugese and Italian sinistro, Spanish siniestro), or Latin sinister left, left-hand

EXAMPLE
From: Lucasta:
Epodes, Odes, Sonnets, Songs, &c. &c.
Richard Lovelace, 1817
Lovelace's Posthume Poems
P. 2

2 Comments

Eddie link

21/9/2014 07:30:53 pm

There's a jolly dose of handism running through the English language (and it's just not right ... ho ho ho). Another example is the term 'cack-handed', which means both 'left-handed' and 'clumsy'.

Jingles

22/9/2014 10:20:54 am

There's quite a few terms, all of which I hope to get on here eventually.
I have keck-handed, which is a variant of cack-handed, and also has the clumsy meaning.
I think most words back then for 'left-handed' also meant clumsy.
Poor left-handers got a bad deal!

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SINISTER-HANDED

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