War, law & rule

sinister

Latin sinister just meant 'left'; because omens on the left came to be read as unlucky, the word darkened through French and English into 'threatening, evil'. In Spanish and French it also became the insurer's word for an accident or disaster.

Weakest linkCertain

The road to English

From Latin to Italian

From Old French to French

From Latin to Spanish

From Latin to Portuguese

From Latin to Catalan

200 BCELatin

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

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