Word of the Day: Sinistral

Recently, the highlight of my lunchtime (being the reading of the blogs of my favourite authors), led me to a most distracting website. It is called FreeRice and it’s a site where you can test your vocabulary (and indeed, expand your vocabulary) whilst donating rice to poor countries, as every correct answer earns a donation of 20 grains of rice to the UN. Now I’m not really sure about the rice side of things… who on earth would count out 20 grains of rice? But the game side is very addictive if you like words. I have so far only managed to get up to level 46, which isn’t that high actually. It’s frustrating and fun, but I came across one today that really intrigued me, so I looked it up.

Sinistral: It means of, pertaining to, or on the left side. It is the opposite of Dextral (which I never actually knew means on the right side), and it is used to mean a person who is left-handed.

As you can see from it’s root though, the word has it's origin in the word Sinister, which is what got me thinking – how do you get ‘on the left side’ from ‘evil’?

So, Word of the Day two is...

Sinister: The first known use of the word is in 1411, meaning "prompted by malice or ill-will," from the Old French. sinistre "contrary, unfavourable, to the left,". In Latin it is sinister "left, on the left side" (opposite of dexter). The Latin word was used in augury in the sense of "unlucky, or unfavourable" (omens, especially bird flights, seen on the left hand were regarded as portending misfortune), and thus sinister acquired a sense of "harmful, unfavourable or adverse." This actually due to Greek influence, reflecting the early Greek practice of facing north when observing omens; in genuine Roman auspices, the left was favourable. Bend (not "bar") sinister in heraldry indicates illegitimacy and preserves the literal sense of "on the left side." This is seen as a bar across the heraldic shield starting from the left.

So there you go. If you were left handed six centauries ago the Greeks would have called you ill omened and if you were born on the wrong side of the sheets, you'd be illigitimate, but either way, you're sinister. Doesn’t that just make your day?