Guest guest Report post Posted July 1, 2003 Could someone give a complete background to this word. Does it have different meanings in different cultures? What else does it mean besides "left-handed" etc. www.andreas.lundin@ambyra.se Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gHari 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2003 sin·is·ter (s¹n“¹-st…r) adj. 1. Suggesting or threatening evil: a sinister smile. 2. Presaging trouble; ominous: sinister storm clouds. 3. Attended by or causing disaster or inauspicious circumstances. 4. On the left side; left. 5. Heraldry. Situated on or being the side of a shield on the wearer's left and the observer's right. [Middle English sinistre, unfavorable, from Old French, from Latin sinister, on the left, unlucky.] --sin“is·ter·ly adv. --sin“is·ter·ness n. ———————————————————— SYNONYMS: sinister, baleful, malign. These adjectives apply to what is indicative of or threatens great harm, disaster, or evil. Sinister usually implies impending or lurking danger that makes its presence felt by ominous signs or portents: “The Kremlin has sinister connotations . . . The aesthetic reality is otherwise” (Henry A. Kissinger). Baleful intensifies the sense of menace; it suggests a deadly, virulent, or poisonous quality: “The Florida eagles are slightly smaller than the others, but they have the same fierce, baleful look” (John Corry). Malign applies to what manifests an evil disposition, nature, influence, or intent: “The Devil . . . with jealous leer malign/Eyed them askance” (John Milton). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
