handednessn.
/ˈhandᵻdnᵻs/, U.S. /ˈhændədnəs/ 1. The property of having either rightward or leftward direction, or having or producing either clockwise or anticlockwise rotation; (Chemistry) chirality. Also: a specific type of this.
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1876 Proc. Royal Soc. 1875–6 24 407 The handedness of the helix will be reversed by reversing either the current or the magnetic polarity.
1962 Listener 10 May 814/3 Proteins..contain amino acids (all of one particular handedness) joined together.
1973 B. Wunderlich Macromolecular Physics I. 86 Packing would now have to be analyzed in terms of the coordination number of the screw, the handedness of the screw relative to its neighbors, and the match of the thread profile.
1988 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 418 384 The faulting in zeolite beta derives from a near-random succession of the two stacking handednesses.
2010 R. Noé Essent. Mod. Optical Fiber Communication ii. 89 These [molecules] have a handedness, like a screw. The polarization rotation direction is specified by the handedness of the screw.
2. The condition of having a dominant or preferred hand (right or left); cf. right-handedness n. at right-handed adj. and adv. Derivatives, left-handedness n. at left-handed adj. Derivatives. Also (occasionally): the tendency of an animal to favour either the right or the left side with regard to certain movements.
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the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > [noun] > favouring one side
left-handednessa1631
dextrality1646
right-handedness1730
left-handiness1749
right-sidedness1837
sinistrality1852
sinisterity1854
left-leggednessa1861
dexteritya1882
mancinism1890
handedness1915
1915 W. F. Jones in Jrnl. Proc. & Addr. National Educ. Assoc. U.S. 959 (heading) The problem of handedness in education.
1921 Trans. Utah Acad. Sci. 2 62 It is argued by some that a child's handedness is a result of imitating its parents.
1961 Lancet 12 Aug. 363/1 The left hemisphere is usually dominant for speech regardless of the handedness of the individual.
1995 New Scientist 5 Aug. 15/3 Some researchers argue that the humpback [whale] findings are part of a body of new data questioning the idea that pre-programmed handedness is limited to humans.
2009 J. Bass Bones Betrayal 396 His handedness: that's how I can tell he was murdered...He'd pick it up with his left hand and press it to his left temple. Not his right temple.
2012 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 22 Mar. 76 Leading Australian farrier David Farmilo says the horse's handedness (or hoofedness) may affect performance—anti-clockwise racing favours the right-handed horse.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1876