| 释义 |
sinisteradj.n.adv. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly (i) a borrowing from French. Partly (ii) a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French senestre, sinistre; Latin sinister. Etymology: < (i) Anglo-Norman and Middle French senestre (adjective) situated on the left-hand side (11th cent. in Old French), adverse, unfavourable, deceitful (14th cent.), malicious (15th cent.), menacing (1573), (in heraldry) turned towards the left (1658), (noun) left hand (c1190 in Old French as sinestre; 13th cent. in Anglo-Norman and c1380 in Middle French as senestre), Anglo-Norman and Middle French, French sinistre (adjective) situated on the left-hand side (13th cent. in Old French), inauspicious (c1415), dishonest (a1520), (of an event) unfortunate (1559), harmful (1674), (of a person's appearance) ominous (1675), evil, wicked (a1741), (noun) disaster (1485), and its etymon (ii) classical Latin sinister left, left-handed, (of omens) unfavourable, harmful, unfavourably situated, immoral, in post-classical Latin also evil, malicious (from late 12th cent. in British sources), of uncertain origin (see note). Semantic development. Uses referring to ill omen, wickedness, or otherwise disfavoured behaviour or conditions, arise ultimately from the perception that the left hand was the weaker and generally disfavoured; for parallels compare note at left adj.1, and compare also discussion at right adj. Romance parallels. With the French and Anglo-Norman forms senestre (compare β. forms) compare Old Occitan senestre , Catalan senestre , sinestre , Spanish siniestro (12th cent.), Italian †sinestro (13th cent.). These forms derive from post-classical Latin sinexter (attested in manuscripts; compare also sinixtra , feminine (a636 in Isidore)), variant of classical Latin sinister , influenced by classical Latin dexter ‘right’ (see dexter adj.). With the French and Anglo-Norman forms sinistre (compare α. forms) compare Portuguese sinistro (1635), Italian sinistro (13th cent.). Further etymology. Classical Latin sinister shows an Indo-European double comparative suffix formed from the comparative suffix reflected by classical Latin -is (in e.g. magis , nimis : see -er suffix3) plus the comparative suffix reflected by Sanskrit -tara , ancient Greek -τερος , classical Latin -ter (see other adj.); the formation therefore exactly parallels the suffixation of synonymous winster adj. The stem is probably < the same Indo-European base as Sanskrit san- to gain, to obtain (compare the early Sanskrit superlative formation saniṣṭha most winning, compare also vaniṣṭha , in the same sense, apparently formed similarly to winster adj.). It seems likely that the Latin word is a late euphemistic formation, similar to ancient Greek ἀριστερός (compare the discussion at winster adj.) and εὐώνυμος (see euonymus n.). Possible Middle English example. In the following quot. Middle Eng. Dict. (at sinistre adj. sense 1e) accepts the reading senstere from the 1922 edition of the Ludus Coventriae, and defines it as ‘a false, corrupt person’, and hence as showing earlier use of the word as a noun. However, interpretations of this passage vary considerably, and identification as a use of sinister is doubtful (EETS ES 120 (1922) glosses it as ‘?seamstress (disparaging term for women)’, while EETS SS 11 (1991) has the reading seustere and glosses it as ‘sister’):?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 357 Be that senstere ded, mary, that fise, We shal brenne here body and the aschis hide. Stress. Evidence from poetry suggests that the word was usually stressed on the second syllable until the first half of the 18th cent. Johnson (ed. 4, 1773) cites stress on the first syllable as the main pattern, but adds that ‘it seems to be used with the accent on the second syllable, at least in the primitive, and on the first in the figurative sense’; this distinction is still sometimes recorded in the 19th cent. A. adj. I. Senses relating to deceit, evil, misfortune, or foreboding. †1. the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > spitefulness > [adjective] the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > unkindness > spite, malice > [adjective] the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > [adjective] > deceptive, misleading 1411 (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1411 §13. m. 14 And of alle that by sinistre informacioun, I havyng doute of harme of my body,..dyd assemble thise persones. 1485 in J. Stuart & G. Burnett (1886) IX. 646 (note) Gif..Johne informit the kingis heines that the said acris pertenit nocht to the said tennandis, that it was wrang and senister informacion. 1548 f. viijv The euell & sinister councell of peruerse & flatteryng persons. 1602 B. Jonson v. iii. sig. L2v The sinister Application Of the malitious, ignorant, and base Interpreter. View more context for this quotation 1783 R. Harris i. viii. 181 The impressions of guilt which their sinister informations had made upon his mind. the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > [adjective] > specifically of persons the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > disadvantageousness > [adjective] > of person c1500 (1895) 258 Yf some of his synester frendes haue informed geffray. 1548 f. clxxiij The displeasures to hym doen, by the quene and her sinister counsailors. the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > [adjective] > unfavourable 1432 in (1904) II. 38 That the said Erle may have knowleche therof, to th' entent that he may..not dwelle in hevy or synistre conceit or opinion. 1593 G. Harvey 17 Let me not bee mistaken by sinister construction. 1603 A. Willet 54 This cauiller with a sinister eye doth examine, what was without malice or fraud first vttered. 1648 R. Boyle (1700) xxiv. 146 We are apt to harbor sinister thoughts of the Contriver of a Plot. a1720 W. Sewel (1722) Pref. This is a very sinister and preposterous conceit. 1791 C. Plowden 101 Whatever sinister opinion of his orthodoxy was advanced after a period fifty years. the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > crookedness > [adjective] society > morality > moral evil > lack of principle or integrity > [adjective] > not straightforward > specifically of actions, etc. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > evasive deception, shiftiness > [adjective] > of actions, words, etc. ?1455 Duke of York et al. in (2005) III. 153 The sinistrez, maliciouse, and fraudulent laboures and rapportes of our sayd ennemyes. ?1504 W. Atkinson tr. Thomas à Kempis (Pynson) iii. li. sig. Niii Thou..sekest for thy defence derke & synyster excuses. 1612 F. Bacon (new ed.) 220 Persons that are full of nimble and sinister trickes and shiftes. 1671 1 The present project..hath bin of late years on foot against a sort of Industrious, Laborious men, carried on by a few sinister persons. 1759 W. H. Dilworth 84 Private letters..which were obtained in a sinister manner by him. 1800 P. Colquhoun xv. 436 Fresh Fish..might be sold all the year, if no sinister arts were used to prevent it. 1829 I. Taylor i. 20 We ought not to heed the injudicious, and perhaps sinister, delicacy of some persons who had rather that truth should remain for ever sullied [etc.]. 1997 N. Walter 86 It [sc. the new humanism of ‘Silo’] may perhaps be forgiven its rather absurd theories and rather sinister practices. 4. the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > [adjective] society > morality > moral evil > [adjective] 1474–5 (Electronic ed.) Parl. Oct. 1472 3rd Roll §6. m. 35 Contynuyn in habundaunce of goodes and havour, to their sinister pleasure. c1550 (1979) 2 Ane sinister inuentit false titil contrar our realme. 1574 J. Whitgift iii. 135 When doe partiall and sinister affections more vtter themselues, than when an election is committed to manie? 1612 T. Taylor (ii. 12) 460 Many in some blind and sinister respect or other, can come to heare Ieremie speaking from the Lord. 1656 J. Bramhall 16 He speaks of bad manners and vitious humors and sinister affections,..as envy, contention, contumacy, incontinency. 1780 E. Burke 89 To see us pervert our skill into a sinister and servile dexterity, for the purpose of evading our duty. 1827 T. Hood Craniology in 2nd Ser. 83 Till one gets mastery good or sinister, And comes in like a new prime-minister. 1860 W. Collins (new ed.) I. 126 To the same hidden source and the same sinister influence. 1996 5 Oct. (The Week section) 2/5 The Secret Service..concluded that the writer's wartime flirtation with the Nazis was the result of his being ‘a silly ass’ rather than anything more sinister. a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara (1546) sig. Q.viij If ye suppose my good desyres be sinister in your hert for the welthe of your owne chyldren. 1656 J. Bramhall viii. 324 If Henry the eighth had any other private sinistre grounds known only to himself, they doe not render the Reformation one jod the worse in it self. 1710 H. Prideaux ii. 45 They may out of sinister and corrupt designs give false Judgments. 1771 ‘Junius’ (1772) II. lxv. 300 I do not mean to enter into an examination of the partial, sinister motives of your conduct. 1856 J. A. Froude I. ii. 120 Wolsey..soon satisfied the king that he had no sinister intentions. 1914 7 June 16/2 (heading) Sinister plot in Ulster. National volunteers as agents provocateurs. 2006 Oct. 19/1 Recent enquiries have uncovered more sinister motives. †5. society > morality > moral evil > wrong conduct > [adjective] > going astray 1526 W. Bonde ii. sig. R.ii Dispyse suche sinister feares and shames, for they come commonly of the ennemy. ?1548 A. Gilby f. clxvii Where you are about to oppresse wyth the Maniches, Messalyans, and other sinister opinions. 1632 W. Lithgow iv. 157 They [sc. the Turks] haue also this sinister opinion, that at the day of Iudgement,..there shall be three displayed Banners, vnder the which all good people shall be conducted to Paradise. 1672 E. Worsley 428 That the Book of Scripture..is horridly peruerted to a Sinister sense, needs no proof, For all know, what ruin Hereticks haue..endeuoured to make of the chief Articles of our Christian Faith. 1634 W. Habington Author sig. A2v I never felt a wanton heat; nor was my invention ever sinister from the strait way of chastity. 6. the world > action or operation > adversity > calamity or misfortune > [adjective] 1576 A. Fleming tr. C. Matius in 115 If I be intercepted with some sinister chaunce. 1580 J. Lyly (new ed.) f. 10 A trauailer that hath sustained harme by sinister fortune. 1670 J. Milton iii. 111 Thir Countrie, whose sinister fate had now blinded them for destruction. 1761 D. Hume II. xii. 42 Leicester himself in case of any sinister accident, could easily take shelter in the city. 1867 J. L. Motley IV. xliv. 243 A sinister event..had opened the series of transactions in the East, and had cast a gloom over the public sentiment at home. 1902 J. H. Rose I. xxi. 494 He did not leave until November 10th, and before that time a sinister event [sc. an engagement between English and Spanish ships] had taken place... Resenting this action, Spain declared war. the world > action or operation > adversity > calamity or misfortune > [adjective] > inauspicious > of omens, signs, etc. the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > an omen, sign, portent > [adjective] > of evil omen 1579 T. North tr. Plutarch 347 To withdraw this euill from them these sinister tokens [Fr. des sinistres presages] did threaten. 1611 B. Jonson i. sig. B1v All the seuerall Ills, that visite earth, (Brought forth by night, with a sinister birth) Plagues, Famine, Fire. View more context for this quotation 1700 (ed. 3) 156 [When] Saturn [is] in Aries, and Mars in the same Degrees of Gemini,..Saturn is said to cast a Sinister Aspect to Mars. 1792 G. Morris in J. Sparks (1832) II. 180 From such facts it is impossible not to draw the most sinister presages. 1855 T. B. Macaulay IV. xviii. 230 Many said that those words, when examined, would be found full of sinister meaning. 1912 E. O'Donnell v. 55 (note) This is a very sinister sign in astrology, denoting the presence of evil influences of all kinds. 2018 (Nexis) 13 May 38 In Western cultures, bats are believed to be a sinister omen. the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > [adjective] > harmful or injurious the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > [adjective] > to thing or person the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > [adjective] > unfavourable 1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer V. xx. 304 The bird of Jove Truss'd..a trembling dove; Sinister [Gk. ἀριστερός] to their hope! 1805 in (new ed.) Advt. p. xiii A place very sinister to English Princes. 1849 N. Hawthorne Main Street in E. P. Peabody viii. 161 Such a life was sinister to the intellect, and sinister to the heart. 1960 ‘L. Brett’ iii. 32 He has been put here for some purpose which is sinister to the earth. 8. Suggestive of evil or malevolence; that evokes a sense of dread or foreboding; ominous, threatening, menacing. Now the most common sense.the world > action or operation > adversity > calamity or misfortune > [adjective] > inauspicious > of aspect threatening misfortune 1797 H. Lee I. 374 In the countenance of St. Auber he thought he discerned something watchful and sinister. 1843 Oct. 317 Arthur saw..a lean and sinister figure, whose devouring eyes were fastened upon him with an expression of ferocious triumph. 1870 Sept. 148 The landlord had been watching him in a sinister manner. 1926 P. Guedalla V. iii. 356 A princely figure of slightly sinister aspect. 1959 28 May 15/5 The Affair in Arcady has everything—a man-eating young heroine..a sinister step-father, [etc.]. 2001 24 July (Sports Daily) i. 6/1 Her long hair tied back away from her face, a sinister smile has spread across her lips. the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > [adjective] > threatening 1838 C. Thirlwall V. xxxviii. 68 This article, of so sinister an aspect, seems to have been inserted chiefly with a view to Thebes. 1894 P. Pinkerton 8 I hear the madmen scream In sinister San Servolo. 1990 20 Apr. 28/3 The hero of the book..singlehandedly disperses a sinister cloud of gloom hovering over Gotham. 2003 A. Sayle 27 A man with frightened eyes and forged papers changing cross-continental trains at some sinister Balkan rail depot. II. Senses relating to the left hand or left-hand side. 9. the world > space > relative position > quality of having sides or being a side > [adjective] > situated at the side > left 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine f. ccccxxxvjv/2 The preest translateth his book to the synyster parte of the aulter. c1600 J. Dymmok (1842) 39 The sinister winge of the vantguard. 1650 T. Fuller ii. i. 67 We have placed the name of Amorites on the sinister front of this our description. 1830 G. R. Gleig I. iii. 48 Of the doors,..that behind is fastened to the sinister lintel by..five latches. 1871 M. Collins III. iii. 74 A card with the name of the journal..engraved in the sinister corner. 2003 24 42/1 The Resurrection appears appropriately on the more important dexter side of the crucified Christ, while the sinister side is reserved for the Entombment. the world > life > the body > positions or directions in body > [adjective] > specific a1500 (Trin. Cambr.) l. 3049 The sinistre Arme smote he vppon. 1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau 54/1 My Lord of Gyuri receaved a terrible shot in his sinistre shoulder. a1625 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher (1634) v. iii. 82 On the sinister side, the heart lyes. 1682 J. Dryden 9 In his Sinister-Hand..Was plac'd a mighty Mug of Potent Ale. 1723 W. Buchanan 78 For Crest, a Sinister Hand holding a Bent-Bow. 1842 S. Lover xxxix. 307 The old lady substituted a black silk shade, to obfuscate her sinister luminary. 1972 59 283/1 The modern replacements of losses [in a statue of the Madonna and Child] are the Madonna's dexter hand, the Child's dexter forearm.., and His sinister hand and wrist up to the middle of the forearm. 2005 R. R. Raines 83 A demi-sea lion azure bearing..in sinister paw a New Guineas sword club. the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by natural phenomena > divination by birds, augury > [adjective] > of leftward flight 1717 A. Pope tr. Homer III. xii. 257 The Victor Eagle, whose sinister [Gk. ἐπ᾽ ἀριστερὰ] Flight Retards our Host. 1739 tr. C. Rollin (ed. 2) V. 18 Not being put to a stand by the sinister flight of birds. society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > escutcheon or shield > [adjective] > sinister 1562 G. Legh f. 41 The sinister poynt, of the same Escocheon,..is in the left side of the same. 1637 T. Heywood 43 Shee pointeth to Hercules on the sinister side, with his club in his hand. 1709 J. Strype Introd. 8 The Sinister half [of the escutcheon] being as it were obscured or cut off. 1797 VIII. 447/2 The Bend is an ordinary formed by two diagonal lines, drawn from the dexter-chief to the sinister-base. 1864 C. Boutell (ed. 3) xiv. 169 The sinister half of the impaled shield. 1988 T. Woodcock & J. M. Robinson ii. 22 Barons bore a red sinister canton and a toque with three plumes of ostrich feathers and a counter-vair edge. 2006 B. A. McAndrew p. xvi Bend, diagonal band running from dexter chief to sinister base. the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > sideways movement or a sideways movement > [adjective] > to the left 1615 G. Sandys 84 A hundred Knights Circling the sad pile with sinister rites [L. ex more sinistro Orbe]. 1644 J. Bulwer 102 To draw sinister circles, or rashly to fling the Hand up and downe. 1822 J. Parkinson 224 Ostrea serra: suborbicular, sinister, gigantic. 1987 L. de Freitas in M. Eliade VIII. 414/1 The labyrinth, as we have seen, denotes the underworld in its catharsis, in its descent ‘to the left’ (the ‘sinister’ direction). the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > [adjective] > favouring one side 1818 May 7 It became practicable to keep the left hand habitually clean..; and there was no longer any occasion to persist in those sinister forbearances, which are..commanded in the Brahmanical ritual. 1995 M. Garber ii. xii. 290 He insists that sinister laterality, willful left-handedness, is not inherited but chosen, a preference, not an orientation. B. n. I. The left side or left hand. society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > escutcheon or shield > [noun] 1572 J. Bossewell ii. f. 32v From the middest of the Dexter parte, to the Sinister of the Escocheon. 1612 H. Peacham iii. 158 The field is deuided into two colours by a single line drawne as the bend from the point, Dexter to the sinister in base. a1773 T. Snelling (1774) 15 On the dexter side, the arms of the Dauphin in chief, and of Scotland in base, the sinister is filled with that of Scotland. 1866 J. E. Cussans 11 Purpure, diagonal lines drawn from sinister to dexter. 1998 J. Corder 159 Out of a cloud in the sinister a dexter hand fessways. the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > extremities > hand > [noun] > left hand 1770 J. Robertson 143 The Right-Hand..Thus to the Left was heard to say... ‘So good Sinister, judge the sequel, You're not to think yourself my equal.’ Sinister, cool and free from passion, Thus answer'd Dexter his Relation. 1861 in A. E. Lee (1892) II. 437 All the infinite variety of shakes..was executed upon the devoted sinister and dexter of the President. 1993 W. Coleman 13 Once upon a time i laid hands in love the sinister and the dexter in the hope of a man. II. Senses relating to deceit, evil, or foreboding. 1914 2 Dec. 22/2 I had been forestalled in the practical joke idea of impersonating the family ghost. But who could this rival be..who so convincingly conveyed a sense of the sinister and the unearthly? 2011 (National ed.) 11 Sept. (Reckoning Suppl.) 2/3 An underlying sense of the sinister out there somewhere. C. adv.the world > space > relative position > quality of having sides or being a side > [adverb] > on the left the world > space > direction > specific directions > [adverb] > anticlockwise 1675 T. Hobbes tr. Homer xx. 24 Then o'er their heads an Eagle flew on high Sinister [Gk. ἀριστερός]. 2015 J. Cohen 114 As they went dexter, another man made the rounds sinister—the bodyguards' body, their charge. Compounds C1. 1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus II. Gal. v. f. xviii The sinistre rooted persuasion of the Jewes [L. invincibili persuasioni Judaeorum]. 1843 23 Mar. 2/5 The sinister-minded men who preside over the destinies of France. 1900 30 June 2/3 What was this company of sinister-faced men? 2015 (Nexis) 17 Jan. 13 Because he is a well-built man, he often came to the attention of people more sinister-minded than he was. 1809 S. Mackay tr. J.-J. Regnault-Warin II. 19 A motley crew of sinister looking men [Fr. un ramas d'hommes sombres]. 1944 21 June 10/7 Other citizens have the right to turn deaf ears to these sinister-sounding views. 2005 28 Apr. (London ed.) 17/2 The sinister-looking actress has landed the role of her life. C2. 1646 G. Buck ii. 46 If tolerated to beare the armes of England; then they were diversified..with Bastons, Bends, Sinister Barres, Bordures, Marks of Basenesse. 1849 16 80 An affectation of rivalling the nobility of England by an ostensible preference for the Norman lines of their own pedigree, despite some sinister bars. 1964 17 44 Coats-of-arms with sable bend or sometimes a sinister bar. society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > charge: device on shield > [noun] > charge of simplest or commonest kind > band crossing shield diagonally > running from top right to bottom left 1612 J. Davies f. 154v A Sanguine-field, that beareth Harts, in chiefe, crost with sinister-bends. 1823 C. Lamb South-sea House in 12 His lineal pretensions, like his personal, favoured a little of the sinister bend. 1998 J. Corder 3 The spear end erect the butt end in sinister bend. a1657 R. Lovelace (1659) sig. Bv That which still makes her mirth to flow, Is our sinister-handed woe. 1874 19 June 6/3 Mr. Jones, a sinister-handed batsman,..hit with great freedom. 2012 @Lifeiskitsch in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) 6 Dec. I am totally sinister-handed. 1797 J. Bentham (Univ. Coll. London) CLIV. f. 79/2 The reduction of particular sinister interests, in opposition to the common interest. 1827 J. Bentham V. ix. iii. i. 6 Interest, when acting in such a direction and with such effect as to give birth to falsehood, may be termed sinister interest. 2007 68 572 The very capacity to check sinister interest and advance human happiness depended on people recognizing the fallibility of their authorities. Derivatives 1688 R. Holme i. vii. 73/1 It is therefore by some Blazoned rect-angled in Bend Sinister, or rect-angled Sinisterwise. ?1828 W. Berry I. sig. N2/2 The lozenges or fusils may be thus formed either lying dexter or sinister; when sinisterwise, it should be particularly expressed. 1999 Re: Bar Sinister Redux in alt.fan.cecil-adams (Usenet newsgroup) 6 Feb. The baton sinister is..a line that goes sinisterwise (toward the left), bending across the shield from the middle to the edge. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online June 2022). <  adj.n.adv.1411 |
