 DRA-MATA Lina Inverse
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| There are many colloquial terms used to refer to a left-handed person. Some are just slang or jargon words (in some parts of the English-speaking world 'cack-handed' is just a synonym for left-handed, though see also below), while others may be offensive or demeaning, either in context or in origin. In more technical contexts, 'sinistral' may be used in place of 'left-handed' and 'sinistrality' in place of 'left-handedness'. Both of these technical terms derive from sinister, a Latin word meaning 'left'.
Some left-handed people consider themselves oppressed, even to the point of prejudice. Etymology often lends weight to the argument:
In Hebrew, as well as in other ancient Semetic and Mesopotamian languages, the term "hand" was a symbol of power or custody. The left hand symbolized the power to shame society, and was used as a metaphor for misforture, natural evil, or punishment from the gods. This metaphor survived ancient culture and was integrated into mainstream Christianity by early Catholic theologians as Ambrose of Milan to modern Protestant theologians such as Karl Barth to attibute natural evil to God in explaining God's omnipotence over the universe.
Modern meanings evolved from use of these terms in the ancient languages. In many European languages, "right" is not only a synonym for correctness, but also stands for authority and justice: German and Dutch recht, French droit, Spanish derecho; in most Slavic languages the root prav is used in words carrying meanings of correctness or justice. Being right-handed has also historically been thought of as being skilful: the Latin word for right-handed is "dexter", as in dexterity; indeed, the Spanish term diestro means both "right-handed" and "skilful". In Irish, "deas" means "right side" and "nice". "Ciotóg" is the left hand and is related to "ciotach" meaning "awkward".
Meanwhile, the English word "sinister" comes from the Latin word "sinister,-tra,-trum", which originally meant "left" but took on meanings of "evil" or "unlucky" by the Classical Latin era. Alternatively, "sinister" comes from the Latin word sinus meaning "pocket": a traditional Roman toga had only one pocket, located on the left side for the convenience of a right-handed wearer.[citation needed] The contemporary Italian word sinistra has both meanings of sinister and left. The Spanish siniestra has both, too, although the 'left' meaning is less common and is usually expressed by 'izquierda,' a Basque word. The left side is often associated with awkwardness and clumsiness, as shown in the French gauche, and adroit, droit meaning right, and adroit meaning skilled. The Dutch expression "twee linkerhanden hebben" ("to have two left hands", which means being clumsy). The common phrase, to have "two left feet" means to be bad at dancing. As these are all very old words/phrases, they support theories indicating that the predominance of right-handedness is an extremely old phenomenon. In Portuguese, the most common word for left-handed person, canhoto, was once used to identify the devil, and canhestro, a related word, means "clumsy".
In ancient China, the left has been the "bad" side. The adjective "left" (左 Mandarin: zuǒ) means "improper" or "out of accord". For instance, the phrase "left path" (左道 Mandarin: zuǒdao) stands for illegal or immoral means. In some parts of China, some adults can still remember suffering for the "crime" (with suitable traumatic punishments) of not learning to be right-handed in both primary and secondary schools, as well as in some "keeping-good-face" families.
In Norwegian, the expression venstrehåndsarbeid (left-hand work) means "something that is done in a sloppy or unsatisfactory way". Additionally, one of the Norwegian words for left-handed, "keivhendt", comes from Norwegian words meaning wrong handed or not straight handed.
The Hungarian word balfácán means twit. (Bal means left and fácán is for pheasant.) Other synonyms are balfék and balek. However all these are euphemistic versions of the original vulgar word balfasz, combining "bal" and the vulgar name of the male genitals fasz.
In England, left-handed people are sometimes referred to as 'cackhanded', referencing their supposedly clumsy nature.
Even the word "ambidexterity" reflects the bias. Its intended meaning is, "skillful on both sides". However, since it keeps the Latin root "dexter", which means "right", it ends up conveying the idea of being "right-handed at both sides". This bias is also apparent in the lesser-known antonym "ambisinistrous", which means "clumsy on both sides" and derives from the Latin root "sinister."
In Esperanto, the word "left" is rendered maldekstro, literally meaning "opposite of right." (The prefix mal-, does not mean "bad", but rather "opposite"; in fact, "generous" translates as malavara, meaning "opposite of greedy.") A left-handed person is maldekstrulo.
by wikipedia    |
