dextral

[ dek-struh l ]

/ ˈdɛk strəl /

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.

RELATED WORDS

clockwise, dexter, right-handed

Nearby words

dexter, dexterity, dexterous, dextr-, dextrad, dextral, dextrality, dextrally, dextran, dextranase, dextrase

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for dextral

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
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
A genus of minute land shells, resembling Vertigo, but separated because they are dextral, while Vertigo is sinistral.
A Conchological Manual|George Brettingham Sowerby
Dextral animals, with shell coiled pseudo-sinistrally; operculum with sinistral spiral; pallial cavity dorsal.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5|Various

Sinistral: Having the aperture of the shell at the left; opposite of dextral.
The Sea-beach at Ebb-tide|Augusta Foote Arnold

British Dictionary definitions for dextral

dextral

/ (ˈdɛkstrəl) /

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

Medicine definitions for dextral

dextral

[ dĕk′strəl ]

adj.

Of, facing, or located on the right side; right.

Right-handed.