sinister

/ˈsɪnɪstə/SIH-nih-stur

/ˈsɪnɪstɚ/SIH-nih-stur

Meaningon the left; unlucky

Common meaning: threatening evil

sinisterleft; unluckyLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1707 · scan

Journey through time

Latinsinister, -tra, -trum‘left’
Englishmeaning shiftsleft → threatening evilsinister‘threatening evil’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin sinister ‘left; unlucky’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry SINISTER, p. 555 · dictionary scan

Roots

sinister, -tra, -trum Latin “left; unlucky”

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