left-handed (adj.) Look up left-handed at Dictionary.com
late 14c., of persons; 1650s of tools, etc., from left (adj.) + handed. In 15c. it also could mean "maimed." Sense of "underhanded" is from early 17c., as in left-handed compliment (1787, also attested 1855 in pugilism slang for "a punch with the left fist"), as is that of "illicit" (as in left-handed marriage). Related: Left-handedly; left-handedness.
left wing (n.) Look up left wing at Dictionary.com
also (as an adjective) left-wing, 1871 in the political sense (1530s in a military formation sense), from left (adj.) + wing (n.). Related: Left-winger.
leftover (adj.) Look up leftover at Dictionary.com
also left-over, "remaining, not used up," 1890, from left + over. The noun meaning "something left over" is from 1891; leftovers "excess food after a meal" (especially if re-served later) is from 1878; in this sense Old English had metelaf.
lefty (n.) Look up lefty at Dictionary.com
"left-handed person," 1886, American English, baseball slang, from left + -y (3). Political sense by 1935.
left (adj.) Look up left at Dictionary.com
c.1200, from Kentish and northern English form of Old English lyft- "weak, foolish" (compare lyft-adl "lameness, paralysis," East Frisian luf, Dutch dialectal loof "weak, worthless"). It emerged 13c. as "opposite of right" (the left being usually the weaker hand), a derived sense also found in cognate Middle Dutch and Low German luchter, luft. But German link, Dutch linker "left" are from Old High German slinc and Middle Dutch slink "left," related to Old English slincan "crawl," Swedish linka "limp," slinka "dangle."

Replaced Old English winestra, literally "friendlier," a euphemism used superstitiously to avoid invoking the unlucky forces connected with the left side (see sinister). The Kentish word itself may have been originally a taboo replacement, if instead it represents PIE root *laiwo-, meaning "considered conspicuous" (represented in Greek laios, Latin laevus, and Russian levyi). Greek also uses a euphemism for "left," aristeros "the better one" (compare also Avestan vairyastara- "to the left," from vairya- "desirable"). But Lithuanian kairys "left" and Lettish kreilis "left hand" derive from a root that yields words for "twisted, crooked."

As an adverb from early 14c. As a noun from c.1200. Political sense arose from members of a legislative body assigned to the left side of a chamber, first attested in English 1837 (by Carlyle, in reference to the French Revolution), probably a loan-translation of French la gauche (1791), said to have originated during the seating of the French National Assembly in 1789 in which the nobility took the seats on the President's right and left the Third Estate to sit on the left. Became general in U.S. and British political speech c.1900.

Used since at least c.1600 in various senses of "irregular, illicit;" earlier proverbial sense was "opposite of what is expressed" (mid-15c.). Phrase out in left field "out of touch with pertinent realities" is attested from 1944, from the baseball fielding position that tends to be far removed from the play. To have two left feet "be clumsy" is attested by 1902. The Left Bank of Paris (left bank of the River Seine, as you face downstream) has been associated with intellectual and artistic culture since at least 1893.
left (v.) Look up left at Dictionary.com
past tense and past participle of leave (v.).
leftist (adj.) Look up leftist at Dictionary.com
1897, from left (adj.) in the political sense + -ist.
leftish (adj.) Look up leftish at Dictionary.com
1934, in the political sense, from left (adj.) + -ish.
leftism (n.) Look up leftism at Dictionary.com
1917, from left in the political sense + -ism.
leftward (adv.) Look up leftward at Dictionary.com
late 15c., from left (adj.) + -ward. Related: Leftwards.
levo- Look up levo- at Dictionary.com
word-forming element meaning "toward the left," from French lévo-, from Latin laevus "left" (see left (adj.)).
sinister (adj.) Look up sinister at Dictionary.com
early 15c., "prompted by malice or ill-will, intending to mislead," from Old French senestre, sinistre "contrary, false; unfavorable; to the left" (14c.), from Latin sinister "left, on the left side" (opposite of dexter), of uncertain origin. Perhaps meaning properly "the slower or weaker hand" [Tucker], but Klein and Buck suggest it's a euphemism (see left (adj.)) connected with the root of Sanskrit saniyan "more useful, more advantageous." With contrastive or comparative suffix -ter, as in dexter (see dexterity).

The Latin word was used in augury in the sense of "unlucky, unfavorable" (omens, especially bird flights, seen on the left hand were regarded as portending misfortune), and thus sinister acquired a sense of "harmful, unfavorable, adverse." This was from Greek influence, reflecting the early Greek practice of facing north when observing omens. In genuine Roman auspices, the augurs faced south and left was favorable. Thus sinister also retained a secondary sense in Latin of "favorable, auspicious, fortunate, lucky."

Meaning "evil" is from late 15c. Used in heraldry from 1560s to indicate "left, to the left." Bend (not "bar") sinister in heraldry indicates illegitimacy and preserves the literal sense of "on or from the left side" (though in heraldry this is from the view of the bearer of the shield, not the observer of it).
hangover (n.) Look up hangover at Dictionary.com
also hang-over, 1894, "a survival, a thing left over from before," from hang (v.) + over. Meaning "after-effect of drinking too much" is first attested 1904, on notion of something left over from the night before.
north Look up north at Dictionary.com
Old English norð "northern" (adj.), "northwards" (adv.), from Proto-Germanic *nurtha- (cognates: Old Norse norðr, Old Saxon north, Old Frisian north, Middle Dutch nort, Dutch noord, German nord), possibly ultimately from PIE *ner- (1) "left," also "below," as north is to the left when one faces the rising sun (cognates: Sanskrit narakah "hell," Greek enerthen "from beneath," Oscan-Umbrian nertrak "left"). The same notion underlies Old Irish tuath "left; northern;" Arabic shamal "left hand; north." The usual word for "north" in the Romance languages ultimately is from English, for example Old French north (Modern French nord), borrowed from Old English norð; Italian, Spanish norte are borrowed from French.
Ask where's the North? At York 'tis on the Tweed;
In Scotland at the Orcades; and there
At Greenland, Zembla, or the Lord knows where.
[Pope, "Essay on Man"]
As a noun, c.1200, from the adverb. North Pole attested from mid-15c. (earlier the Arctic pole, late 14c.). North American (n.) first used 1766, by Franklin; as an adjective, from 1770.
reliquiae (n.) Look up reliquiae at Dictionary.com
"remains," 1650s, Latin plural of reliquus "remainder, residue," noun use of adjective meaning "that is left, remaining, left over," related to relinquere (perfective reliqui) "to leave behind" (see relinquish).
boustrophedon (n.) Look up boustrophedon at Dictionary.com
1783, ancient form of writing with lines alternately written left-to-right and right-to-left, from Greek, literally "turning as an ox in plowing," from bous "ox" (see cow (n.)) + strephein "to turn" (see strophe).
residue (n.) Look up residue at Dictionary.com
mid-14c., from Old French residu (14c.), from Latin residuum "a remainder, that which is left behind," noun use of neuter of adjective residuus "remaining, left over," from residere "remain behind" (see reside).
changeling (n.) Look up changeling at Dictionary.com
1550s, "one given to change," from change (n.) + diminutive suffix -ling. Meaning "person or thing left in place of one secretly taken" is from 1560s; specific reference to an infant or young child (usually stupid or ugly) supposedly left by the faeries in place of one they took is from 1580s. An earlier word for it was oaf or auf.
sinistrorse (adj.) Look up sinistrorse at Dictionary.com
1856, a word wanted by the botanists to describe the direction of spiral structures in nature, from Latin sinistrorsus "toward the left side," from sinister "left" (see sinister). It was paired with dextrorse but confusion over what was the proper point of view to reckon leftward or rightward spiraling prevented the word being as useful as it might have been.
relict (n.) Look up relict at Dictionary.com
"a widow," mid-15c., from Old French relict, fem. relicte "person or thing left behind" (especially a widow) and directly from Medieval Latin relicta "a widow," noun use of fem. of relictus "abandoned, left behind," past participle adjective from Latin relinquere "to leave behind" (see relinquish).
right (adj.2) Look up right at Dictionary.com
"opposite of left," early 12c., riht, from Old English riht, which did not have this sense but meant "good, proper, fitting, straight" (see right (adj.1)). The notion is of the right hand as the "correct" hand. The usual Old English word for this was swiþra, literally "stronger." "The history of words for 'right' and 'left' shows that they were used primarily with reference to the hands" [Buck]. Similar sense evolution in Dutch recht, German recht "right (not left)," from Old High German reht, which meant only "straight, just."

The usual PIE root (*dek-) is represented by Latin dexter (see dexterity). Other derivations on a similar pattern to English right are French droit, from Latin directus "straight;" Lithuanian labas, literally "good;" and Slavic words (Bohemian pravy, Polish prawy, Russian pravyj) from Old Church Slavonic pravu, literally "straight," from PIE *pro-, from root *per- (1) "forward, through" (see per).

The political sense of "conservative" is first recorded 1794 (adj.), 1825 (n.), a translation of French Droit "the Right, Conservative Party" in the French National Assembly (1789; see left (adj.)).
relief (n.1) Look up relief at Dictionary.com
late 14c., "alleviation of distress, hunger, sickness, etc; state of being relieved; that which mitigates or removes" (pain, grief, evil, etc.)," from Anglo-French relif, from Old French relief "assistance," literally "a raising, that which is lifted," from stressed stem of relever (see relieve). Meaning "aid to impoverished persons" is attested from c.1400; that of "deliverance of a besieged town" is from c.1400. Earlier in English as "that which is left over or left behind," also "feudal payment to an overlord made by an heir upon taking possession of an estate" (both c.1200).
loony (adj.) Look up loony at Dictionary.com
also loonie, looney, 1853, American English, short for lunatic, but also influenced by loon (n.2) and perhaps loon (n.1), the bird being noted for its wild cry and method of escaping from danger. As a noun by 1884, from the adjective. Slang loony bin "insane asylum" is from 1919. Looney left in reference to holders of political views felt to be left-wing in the extreme is from 1977. Looney Tunes, Warner Bros. studios' animated cartoon series, dates from 1930.
remain (v.) Look up remain at Dictionary.com
early 15c., from Anglo-French remayn-, Old French remain-, stressed stem of remanoir "stay, dwell, remain; be left; hold out," from Latin remanere "to remain, to stay behind; be left behind; endure, abide, last" (source also of Spanish remaner, Italian rimanere), from re- "back" (see re-) + manere "to stay, remain" (see mansion). Related: Remained; remaining.
twelve (adj.) Look up twelve at Dictionary.com
Old English twelf "twelve," literally "two left" (over ten), from Proto-Germanic *twa-lif-, a compound of the root of two + *lif-, root of the verb leave (see eleven). Compare Old Saxon twelif, Old Norse tolf, Old Frisian twelef, Middle Dutch twalef, Dutch twaalf, Old High German zwelif, German zwölf, Gothic twalif. Outside Germanic, an analogous formation is Lithuanian dvylika, with second element -lika "left over."
rest (v.2) Look up rest at Dictionary.com
"to be left, remain," mid-15c., from Old French rester "to remain," from Latin restare "stand back, be left," from re- "back" (see re-) + stare "to stand" (see stet). Partially confused and merged with the other verb rest. Sense of "to continue to be" is in rest assured. Transitive sense of "to keep, cause to continue to remain" was common in 16c.-17c., "used with a predicate adjective following and qualifying the object" [Century Dictionary], hence phrase rest you merry (1540s); God rest you merry, gentlemen, often is mis-punctuated.
morganatic (adj.) Look up morganatic at Dictionary.com
1727, from French morganatique (18c.), from Medieval Latin matrimonium ad morganaticam "marriage of the morning," probably from Old High German *morgangeba (Middle High German morgengabe) "morning gift," corresponding to Old English morgengifu (see morn + gift). In an unequal marriage between a man of royal blood and a common woman, this was a gift traditionally given to the wife on the morning after consummation, representing the only share she and her children may claim in the husband's estate. Also known as left-handed marriage, because the groom gives the bride his left hand instead of his right, but sometimes this latter term is used of a class of marriage (especially in Germany) where the spouse of inferior rank is not elevated, but the children inherit rights of succession. Related: Morganatically.
esker (n.) Look up esker at Dictionary.com
"deposit left by a glacial stream," 1852, from Irish eiscir "ridge of gravel."
leave (v.) Look up leave at Dictionary.com
Old English læfan "to let remain; remain; have left; bequeath," from Proto-Germanic *laibijan (cognates: Old Frisian leva "to leave," Old Saxon farlebid "left over"), causative of *liban "remain," (source of Old English belifan, German bleiben, Gothic bileiban "to remain"), from root *laf- "remnant, what remains," from PIE *leip- "to stick, adhere;" also "fat."

The Germanic root has only the sense "remain, continue," which also is in Greek lipares "persevering, importunate." But this usually is regarded as a development from the primary PIE sense of "adhere, be sticky" (compare Lithuanian lipti, Old Church Slavonic lipet "to adhere," Greek lipos "grease," Sanskrit rip-/lip- "to smear, adhere to." Seemingly contradictory meaning of "depart" (early 13c.) comes from notion of "to leave behind" (as in to leave the earth "to die;" to leave the field "retreat").
etaoin shrdlu Look up etaoin shrdlu at Dictionary.com
1931, journalism slang, the sequence of characters you get if you sweep your finger down the two left-hand columns of Linotype keys, which is what typesetters did when they bungled a line and had to start it over. It was a signal to cut out the sentence, but sometimes it slipped past harried compositors and ended up in print.
Lilliputian (adj.) Look up Lilliputian at Dictionary.com
"diminutive, tiny," literally "pertaining to Lilliput," the fabulous island whose inhabitants were six inches high, a name coined by Jonathan Swift in "Gulliver's Travels" (1726). Swift left no explanation of the origin of the word.
bye (1) Look up bye at Dictionary.com
in sporting use, a variant of by (prep). Originally in cricket, "a run scored on a ball that is missed by the wicket-keeper" (1746); later, in other sports, "position of one who is left without a competitor when the rest have drawn pairs" (1883), originally in lawn-tennis.
portsider (n.) Look up portsider at Dictionary.com
"left-handed person," 1913, American English baseball slang, from port (n.1) in the nautical sense + side (n.).
right wing (n.) Look up right wing at Dictionary.com
1570s of armies; from 1882 in football; 1905 in the political sense (compare left wing). Right-winger attested by 1919 in U.S. politics, 1895 in sports.
sundae (n.) Look up sundae at Dictionary.com
1897, American English, thought to be an alteration of Sunday, perhaps re-spelled in deference to religious feelings; but the reason for the name is uncertain; perhaps "ice cream left over from Sunday, on sale later." For a fuller account of the speculations, see H.L. Mencken, "The American Language," Supplement I (1945), pp.376-7.
outlier (n.) Look up outlier at Dictionary.com
c.1600, "stone quarried and removed but left unused," from out + lie (v.2). Transferred meaning "outsider" is recorded from 1680s; "anything detached from its main body" is from 1849; geological sense is from 1833.
eleven (n.) Look up eleven at Dictionary.com
c.1200, elleovene, from Old English enleofan, endleofan, literally "one left" (over ten), from Proto-Germanic *ainlif- (compare Old Saxon elleban, Old Frisian andlova, Dutch elf, Old High German einlif, German elf, Old Norse ellifu, Gothic ainlif), a compound of *ain "one" (see one) + PIE *leikw- "leave, remain" (source of Greek leipein "to leave behind;" see relinquish).
FIREFLY: Give me a number from 1 to 10.
CHICOLINI: eleven!
FIREFLY: Right!
Viking survivors who escaped an Anglo-Saxon victory were daroþa laf "the leavings of spears," while hamora laf "the leavings of hammers" was an Old English kenning for "swords" (both from "The Battle of Brunanburgh"). Twelve reflects the same formation. Outside Germanic the only instance of this formation is in Lithuanian, which uses -lika "left over" and continues the series to 19 (vienio-lika "eleven," dvy-lika "twelve," try-lika "thirteen," keturio-lika "fourteen," etc.). Meaning "a team or side" in cricket or football is from 1743.
Rigel Look up Rigel at Dictionary.com
bright star in Orion, 1590s, from Arabic Rijl Jauzah al Yusra "the Left Leg of the Central One," from rijl "foot."
heel-tap (n.) Look up heel-tap at Dictionary.com
also heeltap, 1680s, "one of the bits of leather that are stacked up to make a shoe heel" (see heel (n.1)); meaning "bit of liquor left in a glass or bottle" first recorded 1780s; the exact connection is uncertain unless it be "the last or final part."
obeah (n.) Look up obeah at Dictionary.com
"sorcery, witchcraft" among blacks in Africa and the W.Indies, 1760, from a West African word, such as Efik (southern Nigeria) ubio "a thing or mixture left as a charm to cause sickness or death," Twi ebayifo "witch, wizard, sorcerer."
vert (v.) Look up vert at Dictionary.com
"to turn in some direction," 1570s, from Latin vertere (see versus). As a noun meaning "one who has left the Church of England" from 1864, short for convert (v.).
testate (adj.) Look up testate at Dictionary.com
"having left a valid will," late 15c., from Latin testatus "public, manifest, published," past participle of testari "make a will, be witness to, declare" (see testament).
southpaw (n.) Look up southpaw at Dictionary.com
"lefthander," 1885, originally baseball slang, of pitchers, often said to have been coined by Finley Peter Dunne ("Mr. Dooley"), Chicago sports journalist and humorist, in the days when, it is said, baseball diamonds regularly were laid out with home plate to the west. But south paw "a person's left hand" is attested from 1848 in the slang of pugilism.
Jethro Look up Jethro at Dictionary.com
masc. proper name, biblical father-in-law of Moses, from Hebrew Yithro, collateral form of Yether, literally "abundance," from base y-t-r "to be left over, to remain."
gawky (adj.) Look up gawky at Dictionary.com
"awkward, ungainly," 1724, from gawk hand "left hand" (1703), perhaps a contraction of gaulick, thus "gaulish hand," derogatory slang that could have originated during some period of strained Anglo-French relations, i.e. most of recorded history.
coke (n.1) Look up coke at Dictionary.com
"residue of fuel," 1690s, northern English dialect, perhaps a variant of Middle English colke "core, charcoal" (c.1400), itself possibly related to -colc, an Old English word for "pit," which perhaps would give it a sense of "what is left in the pit after a fire."
mamzer (n.) Look up mamzer at Dictionary.com
"bastard," 1560s, from Late Latin mamzer, from Hebrew mamzer, left untranslated in Deut. xxiii:2 in the Vulgate.
Smithsonian Look up Smithsonian at Dictionary.com
"Smithsonian Institute," named for English scientist and philanthropist James Smithson (1765-1829), who left a legacy to the U.S. government to found it. The mineral smithsonite also is named for him.
soft-pedal (v.) Look up soft-pedal at Dictionary.com
"to tone down," 1915, figurative use from the noun (1856) in reference to the left foot-lever of a piano, which makes it quieter among other effects; from soft (adj.) + pedal (n.).
Kilkenny Look up Kilkenny at Dictionary.com
county in Leinster, Ireland. The county is named for its town, from Irish Cill Chainnigh "Church of (St.) Kenneth." The story of the Kilkenny cats, a pair of which fought until only their tails were left, is attested from 1807.