Did you know something sinister happened six days ago?
What’s more, it happened all over the world!
What am I talking about?
International Left-handers Day! It was on Monday and has been celebrated every 13th of August since 1976.
It was started to honour people born with a preference for using their left hand.
So what has it got to do with the word ‘sinister’ you might ask?
Well, ‘sinister’ is Latin for left hand (or left side). You see, in the past, many cultures considered left-handedness as unlucky or even evil. Whereas of course ‘right’ came to mean ‘correct’, ‘good’ and even... ‘righteous’.
Interestingly, the English word ‘left’ itself also has negative roots. It comes from the Old English word ‘lyft’ which meant idle, weak or foolish.
And you can see a similar pattern with words such as ‘gauche’ which means awkward or clumsy and comes from the French word for ‘left’. Whereas the word ‘adroit’ means expert or skilful and comes to us from the French word for...’right’!
It is rather sad to think how badly many people in the past have been treated for having such an innocent disposition. But also interesting to note how many truly exceptional people have been left-handed!