sinister

English

WOTD – 31 October 2006

Alternative forms

• sinistre (obsolete)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *senh₂-

Proto-Indo-European *senh₂-is-?

Proto-Italic *senisteros

Latin sinister

Late Latin sinextrum

Old French senestrebor.

Middle English sinistre

English sinister

From Middle English sinistre (“unlucky”), from Old French senestre, sinistre (“left”), from Latin sinister (“left hand”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: sĭn′ĭ-stər
  • (Received Pronunciation, Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪ.nɪ.stə/
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪ.nɪ.stəɹ/
  • (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈsə.nə.stə/
• (poetic or South Asia) enPR: sĭ-nĭ′stər
  • (South Asia) IPA^(key): /sɪˈnɪ.sʈə(ɾ)/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (Australian):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: si‧ni‧ster

Adjective

sinister (comparative more sinister, superlative most sinister)

1. Inauspicious, ominous, unlucky, illegitimate.

   bar sinister

   Synonyms: foreboding, portentous; see also Thesaurus:ominous

   • 1611, Ben[jamin] Jonson, Catiline His Conspiracy, London: […] [William Stansby?] for Walter Burre, →OCLC, (please specify the page):

     All the several ills that visit earth / Brought forth by night, with a sinister birth.

   • 1922, Michael Arlen, “1/5/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days‎^[1]:

     And in the meanwhile, Society shivered a little feverishly, filled now with the scions of those who had come over with the Jewish and American Conquests. Escutcheons were becoming valueless, how sinister soever the blots and clots upon them.

2. Evil or seemingly evil; indicating lurking danger or harm.

   Synonyms: malicious, malevolent; see also Thesaurus:evil

   sinister influences

   the sinister atmosphere of the crypt

3. (archaic) Of the left side.

   Antonym: dexter

   • c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v], column 2:

     my Mothers bloud / Runs on the dexter checke, and this ſiniſter / Bounds in my fathers:

   • c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 235:

     His ſicatrice, with an Embleme of warre, heere on his ſiniſter cheeke;

   • 1911, Saki, ‘The Unrest-Cure’, The Chronicles of Clovis:

     Before the train had stopped he had decorated his sinister shirt-cuff with the inscription, ‘J. P. Huddle, The Warren, Tilfield, near Slowborough.’

   1. (heraldry) On the left side of a shield from the wearer's standpoint, and the right side to the viewer.

      Antonym: dexter

      • 1956 July, Col. H. C. B. Rogers, “Railway Heraldry”, in Railway Magazine, page 477:

        The shield was divided into five, with two coats of arms on the dexter side (the right-hand side from the point of view of the bearer of the shield)—London and Southampton—and three on the sinister side—Salisbury, Winchester and Portsmouth.

4. (obsolete) Wrong, as springing from indirection or obliquity; perverse; dishonest.
   • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Judicature”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

     Nimble and sinister tricks and shifts.

   • 1667, Robert South, The Practice of Religion Enforced by Reason:

     He scorns to undermine another's interest by any sinister or inferior arts.

   • 1822, [Walter Scott], The Pirate. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC:

     He read in their looks […] sinister intentions directed particularly toward himself.

Derived terms

• ambisinister
• ambisinistrous
• bar sinister
• baton sinister
• bend sinister
• sinister aspect
• sinister chief
• sinisterism
• sinisterity
• sinisterly
• sinisterness
• sinisterwise
• sinistral
• sinistrous
• unsinister

Translations

ominous

• Albanian: I Mbrapsht
• Bulgarian: зловещ (bg) (zlovešt), злокобен (bg) (zlokoben)
• Catalan: sinistre (ca)
• Czech: zlověstný m
• Esperanto: minaca
• Finnish: pahaenteinen (fi), uhkaava (fi)
• French: sinistre (fr) m or f
• German: sinister (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ἀπαίσιος (apaísios)

• Japanese: 左前の (hidarimae no)
• Macedonian: зло́кобен (zlókoben)
• Persian: گجسته (fa) (gojaste)
• Plautdietsch: dreiwent
• Polish: złowrogi (pl) m, złowieszczy (pl) m, arcygroźny (pl)
• Portuguese: sinistro (pt)
• Russian: злове́щий (ru) (zlovéščij), злополу́чный (ru) (zlopolúčnyj)

evil

• Arabic: شَرِير (ar) m (šarīr)
• Bulgarian: зъл (bg) (zǎl)
• Czech: zlý (cs) m, hrozivý (cs) m
• Finnish: paha (fi)
• French: sinistre (fr) m or f
• German: böse (de), sinister (de)
• Hebrew: מרושע m (merusha), רשע (he) m (rasha)
• Italian: sinistro (it) m
• Japanese: 悪い (ja) (warui), 奸な (ja) (yokoshima na)
• Kazakh: залым (zalym)
• Macedonian: зло́бен (zlóben), зол (zol)
• Malay: jahat (ms)
• Polish: złowrogi (pl) m, arcygroźny (pl)
• Portuguese: sinistro (pt)
• Romanian: sinistru (ro)
• Russian: злой (ru) (zloj)
• Spanish: siniestro (es)

on the left — see also left,‎ left-handed

• German: sinister (de), links (de), linksseitig (de)
• Italian: sinistra (it) f
• Portuguese: sinistro (pt), sestro (pt), esquerdo (pt)
• Spanish: siniestro (es)

heraldry: on the left

• Bulgarian: ляв (bg) (ljav)
• Danish: sinister (da), heraldisk venstre
• Finnish: vasen (fi), vasta- (fi)
• French: sénestre (fr)
• German: linker (de) m
• Italian: sinistra (it)
• Spanish: siniestro (es), izquierdo (es)
• Swedish: sinister (sv), vänster (sv)

Further reading

• “sinister”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “sinister, adj., n. & adv.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• “sinister”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• insister, resistin, sinistre

Danish

Etymology

From Latin sinister.

Adjective

sinister (neuter sinistert, plural and definite singular attributive sinistre)

1. (formal) sinister

   Synonyms: uheldssvanger, uheldsvarslende, ildevarslende

Inflection

Inflection of sinister

	positive	comparative	superlative
indefinite common singular	sinister	—	—2
indefinite neuter singular	sinistert	—	—2
plural	sinistre	—	—2
definite attributive1	sinistre	—	—

¹ When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite,
the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
² The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

References

• “sinister” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

From Latin sinister, possibly via Middle French sinistre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /siˈnɪs.tər/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪstər

Adjective

sinister (comparative sinisterder, superlative sinisterst)

1. sinister

Declension

Declension of sinister
uninflected	sinister
inflected	sinistere
comparative	sinisterder
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		sinister	sinisterder	het sinisterst het sinisterste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	sinistere	sinisterdere	sinisterste
	n. sing.	sinister	sinisterder	sinisterste
	plural	sinistere	sinisterdere	sinisterste
definite		sinistere	sinisterdere	sinisterste
partitive		sinisters	sinisterders	—

References

• van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “sinister”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute

German

Etymology

From Latin sinister.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ziˈnɪs.tɐ/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Adjective

sinister (strong nominative masculine singular sinisterer, comparative sinisterer, superlative am sinistersten)

1. sinister

Declension

Positive forms of sinister

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist sinister	sie ist sinister	es ist sinister	sie sind sinister
strong declension (without article)	nominative	sinisterer	sinistere	sinisteres	sinistere
	genitive	sinisteren	sinisterer	sinisteren	sinisterer
	dative	sinisterem	sinisterer	sinisterem	sinisteren
	accusative	sinisteren	sinistere	sinisteres	sinistere
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der sinistere	die sinistere	das sinistere	die sinisteren
	genitive	des sinisteren	der sinisteren	des sinisteren	der sinisteren
	dative	dem sinisteren	der sinisteren	dem sinisteren	den sinisteren
	accusative	den sinisteren	die sinistere	das sinistere	die sinisteren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein sinisterer	eine sinistere	ein sinisteres	(keine) sinisteren
	genitive	eines sinisteren	einer sinisteren	eines sinisteren	(keiner) sinisteren
	dative	einem sinisteren	einer sinisteren	einem sinisteren	(keinen) sinisteren
	accusative	einen sinisteren	eine sinistere	ein sinisteres	(keine) sinisteren

Comparative forms of sinister

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist sinisterer	sie ist sinisterer	es ist sinisterer	sie sind sinisterer
strong declension (without article)	nominative	sinistererer	sinisterere	sinistereres	sinisterere
	genitive	sinistereren	sinistererer	sinistereren	sinistererer
	dative	sinistererem	sinistererer	sinistererem	sinistereren
	accusative	sinistereren	sinisterere	sinistereres	sinisterere
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der sinisterere	die sinisterere	das sinisterere	die sinistereren
	genitive	des sinistereren	der sinistereren	des sinistereren	der sinistereren
	dative	dem sinistereren	der sinistereren	dem sinistereren	den sinistereren
	accusative	den sinistereren	die sinisterere	das sinisterere	die sinistereren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein sinistererer	eine sinisterere	ein sinistereres	(keine) sinistereren
	genitive	eines sinistereren	einer sinistereren	eines sinistereren	(keiner) sinistereren
	dative	einem sinistereren	einer sinistereren	einem sinistereren	(keinen) sinistereren
	accusative	einen sinistereren	eine sinisterere	ein sinistereres	(keine) sinistereren

Superlative forms of sinister

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist am sinistersten	sie ist am sinistersten	es ist am sinistersten	sie sind am sinistersten
strong declension (without article)	nominative	sinisterster	sinisterste	sinisterstes	sinisterste
	genitive	sinistersten	sinisterster	sinistersten	sinisterster
	dative	sinisterstem	sinisterster	sinisterstem	sinistersten
	accusative	sinistersten	sinisterste	sinisterstes	sinisterste
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der sinisterste	die sinisterste	das sinisterste	die sinistersten
	genitive	des sinistersten	der sinistersten	des sinistersten	der sinistersten
	dative	dem sinistersten	der sinistersten	dem sinistersten	den sinistersten
	accusative	den sinistersten	die sinisterste	das sinisterste	die sinistersten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein sinisterster	eine sinisterste	ein sinisterstes	(keine) sinistersten
	genitive	eines sinistersten	einer sinistersten	eines sinistersten	(keiner) sinistersten
	dative	einem sinistersten	einer sinistersten	einem sinistersten	(keinen) sinistersten
	accusative	einen sinistersten	eine sinisterste	ein sinisterstes	(keine) sinistersten

Further reading

• “sinister”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[2] (in German)
• “sinister” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon

Latin

Alternative forms

• sinexter (Late Latin)

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *senisteros, of unclear origin. Possibly a euphemism from Proto-Indo-European *senh₂-is- (“more obtaining”), from *senh₂- (“to seek, gain”) (thus the direction of "left" as "the more favorable (side)"), cognate with Sanskrit सनोति (sanoti, “to gain, procure”), सनीयान् (sanīyān, “more useful, more advantageous”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [sɪˈnɪs.tɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [siˈnis.ter]

Adjective

sinister (feminine sinistra, neuter sinistrum, comparative sinistrior, superlative sinistimus, adverb sinistrē); first/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)

1. left

   Synonyms: laevus, scaevus

   Antonym: dexter

2. perverse, bad; or adverse, hostile
   • 1st BC, Virgilius

     mores sinistri
     arboribus Notus sinister

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. (religion) auspicious (for Romans) or inauspicious (for Greeks)
   • 1st BC, Virgilius

     sinistra cornix

     good omen

   • 2nd century, Apuleius

     sinistro pede profectus

     started with bad omen

Declension

First/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er).

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	sinister	sinistra	sinistrum		sinistrī	sinistrae	sinistra
genitive	sinistrī	sinistrae	sinistrī		sinistrōrum	sinistrārum	sinistrōrum
dative	sinistrō	sinistrae	sinistrō		sinistrīs
accusative	sinistrum	sinistram	sinistrum		sinistrōs	sinistrās	sinistra
ablative	sinistrō	sinistrā	sinistrō		sinistrīs
vocative	sinister	sinistra	sinistrum		sinistrī	sinistrae	sinistra

Descendants

Reflexes of the late variant sinexter (influenced by dexter):

• Italo-Romance:
  • Italian: sinèstro (regional or archaic)
• North Italian:
  • Friulian: signestri
  • Romansh: sanester, seniester (Sursilvan), saniester (Sutsilvan), schnester (Puter, Vallader)
  • Venetan: senestro
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Old Catalan: senestre
  • Old French: senestre
    • Middle French: senestre
      • French: senestre, sénestre, senêtre
    • Norman: s'nêtre
  • Occitan: senèstre
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Asturian: siniestru
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: sẽestro, seestro
    • Portuguese: sestro
  • Old Spanish: siniestro
    • Ladino: siniestro, סינייסטרו
    • Spanish: siniestro

Borrowings:

• → Catalan: sinistre
• → Danish: sinister
• → German: sinister
• → Dutch: sinister
• → English: sinister
• → French: sinistre
• → Galician: sinistro
• → Italian: sinistro
• → Portuguese: sinistro
• → Romanian: sinistru

References

• “sinister”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “sinister”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “sĭnĭster”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 11: S–Si, page 649