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  • Paul Anthony Jones

Dextrosinistral

(adj.) extending from right to left; naturally left-handed, but trained to use the right

a person writing with their right hand despite being left handed

Derived ultimately from a combination of the Latin words for right (dexter) and left (sinister), in general terms the adjective dextrosinistral merely describes anything moving, extending, or positioned on an axis from right to left. But in certain fields—and in the field of psychology in particular—dextrosinistral is employed in a more specific sense, describing someone who is naturally left-handed, but has been trained against their better instincts to make their right hand their dominant hand. And in particular, someone who has been trained to write with their right hand, rather than their left.



It’s not a word recorded in a great many dictionaries; the earliest record HH could find of this particular term is in a psychological paper dating from 1912, which sought to connect stammering, lisping and other speech impediments to dextrosinistral children. Even at that relatively early date, the bitter consequences of forcing a child to go against their better instincts—seemingly for no other reason than societal preference—seems to have been a cause for concern.

Hi! We’re currently updating the HH blog, including all the tags (below). But with over 700 posts to reformat, well—apologies, this might take a while... 

For now, you can browse the back catalogue using all the tags from the blogposts we’ve already completed; this list will grow as more blogs are brought up to date.

 

Thanks for your patience in the meantime—and any problems or questions, just let us know at haggard@haggardhawks.com.

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