left-handed [left -han -did]
Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for left-handed on Thesaurus.com having the left hand more dominant or effective than the right; preferably using the left hand: a left-handed pitcher. adapted to or performed by the left hand: a left-handed tool; a left-handed tennis serve. situated on the side of the left hand. Machinery rotating counterclockwise. noting a helical or spiral member, as a gear tooth or screw thread, that twists counterclockwise as it recedes from an observer. Building Trades left-hand(def 3) .ambiguous or doubtful and often unfavorable or derogatory by implication: a left-handed compliment. clumsy or awkward. of, relating to, or issuing from a morganatic marriage: so called from the custom, in morganatic marriage ceremonies, of having the bridegroom give his left hand to the bride. Show More
with the left hand: He writes left-handed. toward the left hand; in a counterclockwise direction: The strands of the rope are laid left-handed. Show More
Origin of left-handed Middle English word dating back to
1350–1400; see origin at
left1 ,
handed Related forms left-hand·ed·ly , adverb left-hand·ed·ness , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for left-handed Contemporary Examples of left-handed Besides, he was left-handed , and top-notch left-handed golfers are almost as rare as left-handed catchers.
Apparently, a fair number of left-handed people die each year from using right-handed products incorrectly.
Historical Examples of left-handed It was the elder Dumas who said, "Truth is liable to be left-handed in history."
Indeed my innermost feeling, now, is that "The Return" is a left-handed production.
Only one, I remember, noticed that I was shot by a left-handed man.
“I never knew before that you were left-handed ,” he returned evasively.
If our friend is left-handed , he'll be inconvenienced for a day or two.
British Dictionary definitions for left-handed using the left hand with greater ease than the right performed with the left hand designed or adapted for use by the left hand worn on the left hand awkward or clumsy ironically ambiguous a left-handed compliment turning from right to left; anticlockwise law another term for morganatic Show More
Derived Forms left-handedly , adverb left-handedness , noun 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
Word Origin and History for left-handed adj. late 14c., of persons; 1650s of tools, etc., from left (adj.) + handed . In 15c. it also could mean "maimed." Sense of "underhanded" is from early 17c., as in left-handed compliment (1787, also attested 1855 in pugilism slang for "a punch with the left fist"), as is that of "illicit" (e.g. left-handed marriage ). Related: Left-handedly ; left-handedness .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Using the left hand more skillfully or easily than the right. Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
