dexter

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dexter (“on the right hand, right”),^[2][3][4][5] a comparative formation with the suffix -ter,^[2][5][3] so that it meant, according to Etymonline, "the better direction".^[3] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *deḱs-tero- (“right, right-hand side”),^[6] from Proto-Indo-European *deḱs- (“right, opposite of left; south”).^[3][7] It is cognate with Ancient Greek δεξιός (dexiós, “on the right hand”), Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍃𐍅𐌰 (taihswa, “right”), Old High German zeso, Old Irish dess (“right, south”), Welsh deheu and Lithuanian dẽšinas.^{[2][8][9][6][10]} The Latin word is the source of French dextre, Spanish diestro and Italian destro;^[3] Middle English already had dester (“right hand”), from the same source, compare destrier.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Situated on the right side, especially in heraldry: 1562, in Gerard Legh's Accedens of Armory.^[2][11]

Semantic evolution

The word came in as a term of heraldry, where it is the opposite of sinister.^[2][12] The dexter side of a shield is the right of the person bearing it, and so the left of someone looking at it.^[3][13] Johnson (1755) called it "a term used in heraldry" and quoted Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida: "My mother's blood Runs on the dexter cheek".^[12] In the 17th century it was also used, after Latin, of omens seen on the right and so lucky (1646–1718),^[2][4] and for a short time (1597–1659) it meant skilful, like dexterous.^[2][5] As a noun, the right hand or right side, it is recorded from 1814,^[2] and as a slang word for the right hand in 1821.^[14]

Timeline

• 1562 – on the right side, especially in heraldry.^[2][11]
• 1597 – skilful, dexterous (obsolete by 1659).^[2]
• 1646 – of omens, seen on the right, auspicious (obsolete by 1718).^[2][4]
• 1726 – adverb, on the right side, in Pope's Odyssey.^[2]
• 1814 – noun, the right hand or side.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. In heraldry, on the side of a shield that is to the right of the person bearing it, and so to the left of the viewer; the opposite of sinister: a lion on the dexter side.^[13][11][2]
2. (archaic) On or relating to the right side.^[13][11][2]
3. (obsolete) Of an omen, appearing on the right, and so auspicious (1646–1718).^[11][2][4]

Noun

1. The right hand or right side.^[2][14]

Word family

• dexterous

Related words

• dexterity
• ambidextrous
• sinister
• destrier

Usage notes

The Dexter, a small hardy breed of Irish cattle descended from the Kerry, is said to be named after a Mr Dexter who established it; it is recorded from 1880.^[2][4][11] The surname Dexter is literally "a dyer", from the word for dye and the suffix -ster,^[3] and the OED has a noun dexter, a dyer, from about 1500.^[2] Since 1985 dexter has also been a shortening of poindexter.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
10. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
12. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
14. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com