The WordSmith
by Darin M. Bush
The Hand of Evil
Wordsmithery can teach us about human psychology, history, and
everything. How? Words are created or discovered for a
reason. That reason might be as simple
as a war or a new discovery in science. Sometimes
words are created out of laziness, e.g.: fax, thru, huh? Some words do not mean what we all think they
mean. Instead, they actually teach us
about our own past.
A Wordsmith can gain a better understanding of how and when to
use a word by looking at its origins.
Take “sinister” as an excellent example.
The word is used to mean “evil”.
Evil has many possible interpretations, religious or political,
psychological or spiritual. Which
version of “evil” should be used in a speech?
A Wordsmith never knows when a speech is going to require the concept of
evil. No, seriously.
Sinister is useful if you are trying to vary your choice of
words. It does not, however, actually
mean “evil”. It means, hold your heart,
“left-handed”. In Latin, the root “sinistr-“
means left-handed. Huh? How did we get from “left” to “evil”? Quite simply, actually. Soldiers held their swords in their dominant
hand, usually the right hand. To signify
peaceful intentions, they put their swords away and shook hands with their
right hand. This implied the inability
to strike at the “adversary” and is why we now greet people with a handshake.
Where does the evil part come in? Imagine a soldier who was left-handed. He could shake hands with his right hand, and
swing his sword at the same time!
Therefore, people who were left-handed were seen as capable of cheating
in a lethal manner. Sinister in English
implies someone intends mischief, and is willing to deceive his adversary,
especially by tricking him into putting down his guard. Sinister means violent deception, or “evil”.
Questions? Suggestions? Write with either hand to the Tourette Tiger
Copyright 2003-2005 by Darin M. Bush