Vocabulum X: Dexter is never wrong
The Latin word for right-handed mirrors every culture's view that right is best.
In Latin, the adjective dexter means right-handed, in the right direction, or on the right side. It also means handy, skillful, and favorable. Skipping over to the “s” section briefly, we see that the Latin adjective which means left-handed, in the left direction, or on the left side is sinister. It also means unlucky, unfavorable, and perverse. The adverb form, sinistre, means badly. (Welcome to Manuscribit, a unique study of English grammar and vocabulary through Latin. It’s best to begin with the very first post and work your way through, with sketchbook in hand.)
As we continue our study of Latin roots, we pause in the “d’s” for a deeper dive into dexter/dextra. Why is the right hand/right direction favored by the Romans, and most other civilizations? It is because the majority (70-95%) of all humans in every civilization are/were right-handed, and tools, utensils, doorways, and, eventually, road direction (Rome established a “drive on the left” carriage rule so that one’s sword hand—the right hand—was free in case of an approaching enemy, and medieval Britain followed suit) were designed for the majority. In fact, it was common practice in our own country for left handed children to be forced to switch to the right hand (as was done to my own grandmother), and it is still done in some countries currently. Since the beginning of recorded time, therefore, right-handedness has been considered the “right” way to do things, and that came down in our usage of “right” as the opposite of “wrong,” and “left” as being “left out,” “leftover,” and a “left-handed compliment.”
In English, we use the word dexterity to indicate nimbleness with one’s hands, no matter which one is used. Sinister, sadly, is still quite of negative term, but now we understand why. Let’s continue on to examine more “d” words, with apologies for not being able to include them all. The Latin influence is just too overwhelming!
dicere, dictum: to say or tell, told, saying benediction (literally, good speech), contradiction (literally, to speak against), dictate, diction, dictionary
digitus: finger, toe, inch; figuratively used to mean “good at counting” (because what else would you use to count?) digital, digits, digitize
dignus: worthy dignify, dignity, indignant
diversus: in different directions diverse, diversity
docere, doctum: to teach, taught docent, doctor, doctrine, document, indoctrinate
dominus: master, lord dominate, dominion, indominable
domus: house, home, native place domesticate, domicile
donare, donum: to give, gift donate, donation, donor
dubitare: to waver, hesitate doubt (do you see why the “b” is there now?), doubtful, doubtless, dubious, indubitably
ducere, ductum: to lead, led Think of any prefix and add it to “-duce, or -duct” for an English word. The prefix indicates the direction in which one is being led (in, down, out, away, again, to, toward, etc.). abduct, adduce, deduce/deduct/deduction, educate, induce/induction, introduce, reduce, produce, etc. (And of course, there is always the Duke, as in Ellington ; ))
dum: while, as long as, just a moment I like to think that the little Dum-Dum suckers were named after this word, because they only last a moment, but I have no proof to back that up.
duo: two duo, dual, duet, duplicate etc. (The prefix “bi-” is from the Greek.)
durare, duras: to harden, hard, harsh, rough durable, endure (Note that the word difficult has a different root: difficilis.)
Thank you for visiting Manuscribit. Next week, we will examine the “e” Latin entries from which so many of our English words are derived. In the meantime, feel free to obtain a Latin dictionary and add more words to your sketchbook.
I hope you will also consider subscribing to my online Latin Substack entitled Loquī. The introductory lesson has already been posted, and the next one will be put out in late July. Let’s be loquacious in Latin!
May God’s peace be with you.
CM- I haven't considered the topic of right-handedness much, so I'm glad you brought this up. It makes me think of a few observations that probably deserve deeper thought. Hope you're well this week. Cheers, -Thalia