dextral

American  

[dek-struhl] / ˈdɛk strəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or on the right side; right (opposed to sinistral).

2. right-handed.

3. Zoology. Also (of certain gastropod shells) coiling clockwise, as seen from the apex.

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dextral British  

/ ˈdɛkstrəl, dɛkˈstrælɪtɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or located on the right side, esp of the body; right-hand

2. of or relating to a person who prefers to use his right foot, hand, or eye; right-handed

3. (of the shells of certain gastropod molluscs) coiling in an anticlockwise direction from the apex; dextrorse

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Other Word Forms

• dextrality noun
• dextrally adverb

Etymology

Origin of dextral

1640–50; < Latin dext ( e ) r dexter + -al ¹

Example Sentences

If the opposing block moves right, it is dextral motion.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

An example of a dextral, right-lateral strike-slip fault is the San Andreas Fault, which denotes a transform boundary between the North American and Pacific plates.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

Given that handedness is apparent early in life and the vast majority of people are right-handed, we are almost certainly dextral by nature.

From Scientific American • Mar. 24, 2013

Triforis, Physa, Clausilia are examples of sinistral Gastropods, but reversal also occurs as an individual variation among forms normally dextral.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various

Occasionally the dextral circuit is followed in cases in which it is evidently less convenient than the sinistral would be, as in dealing cards in all ordinary games.

From Current Superstitions Collected from the Oral Tradition of English Speaking Folk by Bergen, Fanny D. (Fanny Dickerson)