Name: English Tutor Nick P Word Origins (60) Sinister
Uploaded: 2019-08-04T16:07:03.000Z
Duration: 4 min 4 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Hi this is Tutor Nick P  and this is Word Origin 60.  The origin today is sinister.

in English. All right. Let's take a look at the note. If someone says that another

person is sinister,  he or she means that this person is threatening and may do

harm or evil,  something like that. Any time we say that something is sinister,  bad or

evil is connected to that idea. Okay.  Let's continue. The origin goes back to

Latin. Even though when reading on us,  the idea may even go back further to

like I think the Greek Empire. But if you want a direct connection to the word

sinister Latin is is better. In Latin sinestra meant left. So at first it just

meant literally left. But then it started to develop. So historically,  the left side

were people who were left handed we're thought to be unlucky and then

eventually they kind of connected the ideas of evil or threatening with them

too. In many European languages you can find vocabulary that reflects this. This

is true with both French and Italian. Yes.  I do remember I had studied Italian,  you

know,  Sinestra I remember it meant on the left and immediately made the

connection.  Oh sinister,  you know right is good. That's left

and I think sinistra I think in French.  And there's a lot of other European

languages that have some sort of variation of this. This connection to

right and left where right is good left is bad. Let's continue. The right side

also took on the meanings of correct or proper. Okay. You could see this in such

English words as' righteous' meaning morally good or correct or 'rightful'

meaning officially or legally you know,  accepted. Okay. Let's continue. In many

cultures parents would often try to change children that were

naturally left-handed to write with their right hand. You don't see it as

much anymore. Growing up in the US.  I didn't really see it in my generation.

But I do remember that my father was originally left-handed and his parents

tried to force him to be right-handed. So they did force him to write with his

right hand. But of course,  he still naturally did a lot of other things with

his left hand. And you know,  even when I came to ... when I first came to Asia I

also found this in in Asia too. That many people believe this in in Asia as well.  I

remember,  probably more than 20 years ago I knew , I knew a girl English teacher

who worked at a school for , for kids. So it was really basic English that she was

teaching. But when the owner of that school realized that she was left-handed

he actually fired her just for being left-handed. Now I don't think the same

thing would happen today. But at that time even just 20 years ago that did

happen. So it was kind of a left handed prejudice.  I don't know something like

that,  but anyway you never know.  I don't think left-handers have too much

to fear today.  I don't I think that any sort of a bias against them has kind of

dwindled over time. So most cultures don't think this way,  but you don't have

to go that far back just just really a couple of generations. One generation or

two generations and you will find this in a lot of cultures. Anyway,  I hope it

was informative that you know,  you realize but the sinestra   left was

always bad. Right was always good. I hope it was food for thought and I hope you

enjoyed it. Thank you for your time. Bye- bye.