dextral

[dek-struh l]

See more synonyms for dextral on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of, relating to, or on the right side; right (opposed to sinistral).
right-handed.
Also dexiotropic. Zoology. (of certain gastropod shells) coiling clockwise, as seen from the apex.

Origin of dextral

1640–50; < Latin dext(e)r dexter + -al¹

Related formsdex·tral·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for dextral

clockwise, dexter, dextral, right-handed

Examples from the Web for dextral

Historical Examples of dextral

The circuit used by the decorator of this box is dextral or sunwise.
Archeological Expedition to Arizona in 1895
Jesse Walter Fewkes
Vertigo (Sphyradium) edentula is dextral and without denticles.
Our British Snails
John William Horsley
Sinistral: Having the aperture of the shell at the left; opposite of dextral.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide
Augusta Foote Arnold
It has been made from the broad beak of a Strombus or dextral whorled Busycon.
Art in Shell of the Ancient Americans
William H. Holmes
The bead illustrated in Fig. 6 has been made from the column of some dextral whorled shell.
Art in Shell of the Ancient Americans
William H. Holmes

British Dictionary definitions for dextral

dextral

adjective

of, relating to, or located on the right side, esp of the body; right-hand
of or relating to a person who prefers to use his right foot, hand, or eye; right-handed
(of the shells of certain gastropod molluscs) coiling in an anticlockwise direction from the apex; dextrorse

Compare sinistral

Derived Formsdextrality (dɛkˈstrælɪtɪ), noundextrally, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dextral in Medicine

dextral

[dĕk′strəl]

adj.

Of, facing, or located on the right side; right.
Right-handed.