Pronunciation: PIH-nih-kuhl, noun
Notes: There was one meaning I didn’t know (but it rather specialized)
Yesterday’s word
The word sinisterity means
- left-handedness
- skillfulness in the use of the left hand
- awkwardness or clumsiness
- evilness, unluckiness, etc
First usage
Our word came into English in the early 1600s
Background / Comments
Our word shows the historic prejudice against the left-handed people; on average, about 10% of people are left-handed. Thus, their usage of the left hand looks awkward or clumsy to the right-handed. In the Bible, a judgment put the righteous on the right and the wicked on the left (Matt 25:31-46). This may be why our word took the meaning of “evil”. Our word came from the Latin word sinister (left; left hand; unlucky).
