Sunday, November 9, 2014

Word of the Day,

sinistral
 \ SIN-uh-struhl \, adjective;  
1.left-handed.
2.of, pertaining to, or on the left side; left (opposed to dextral).
3.(of certain gastropod shells) coiling counterclockwise, as seen from the apex.

Quotes:
During our years of separation (quite painless for us both), he had changed from a poor, wiry student with animated, night-dark eyes and a beautiful, strong, sinistral  handwriting into a dignified, rather corpulent gentleman…
-- Vladimir Nabokov, "Ultima Thule," The New Yorker , April 7, 1973

Useful though the confirmation was--Constantin had noticed Malek apparently trying to conceal his left-handedness during their meals and when opening and closing the windows--he found this sinistral  aspect of Malek's personality curiously disturbing, and indication that there would be nothing predictable about his opponent, or the ensuing struggle of wits between them.
-- J.G. Ballard, "End Game," The Terminal Beach , 1964

Origin:
Sinistral  is related to the word sinister  and meant "unlucky" when it entered English in the 1400s. It was extended to mean "on the left side" in the early 1800s.

Dictionary.com