Words belonging to use of hands

Words belonging to use of hands-  dexterous, adroit, sinister, gauche.

Dexterous-

1. physically skillful: characterized by ease and skill in physical movement, especially in using the hands and manipulating objects 2. quick-witted: mentally sharp or quick

Adroit-

skillful: displaying physical or mental skill

Sinister-

1. suggesting evil: threatening or suggesting malevolence, menace, or harm 2. on left part of shield: on the left side of a heraldic shield as seen by the holder

Gauche-

socially awkward: lacking grace or tact in social situations

Dexterous means skillful and dexterity means skill. Dexter is a Latin word for right hand. The right hand is traditionally the more skillful one, it is only within recent decades that we have come to accept the lefties or southpaws are just as normal as anyone else- and the term left-handed is still considered as synonym of awkward. The prefix ambi- (means both)  can be used to form the word ambidextrous, which means able to use both hands with equal skill. The corresponding noun would be ambidexterity.

The Latin word for left hand is sinister. The same word in English means evil, threatening or dangerous. There may still be some parents who insist on forcing their left-handed children to change, (though left-handedness is inherited) with various unfortunate result in child- sometime stuttering or an inability to read normally.

The French word for left-hand is gauche, and as you would suspect, when we took this word over into English, we invested it into an uncomplimentary meaning. Call someone gauche, and you imply clumsiness, generally social rather than physical. (we’re right back to our old age misconception that left-handed people are less skillful than right-handed ones) A gauche remark is tactless, a gauche offer of sympathy is is so bumbling as to be embarrassing, gaucherie is an awkward, clumsy, tactless and embarrassing way of saying things or handling situations.

And the french word for right hand is droit, which we have used in building our English word adroit. Needless to say adroit like dexterous, means skillful, but especially in the exercise of mental facilities. The adroit person is quick witted, can get out of difficulties cleverly, can handle situations ingeniously. Adroitness is then quick opposite of gaucherie.