ambidextrous

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. adjective equally skillful with each hand
  2. adjective marked by deliberate deceptiveness especially by pretending one set of feelings and acting under the influence of another; - Israel Zangwill; ; - W.M.Thackeray

Etymology

From Medieval Latin ambidexter + -ous, the former from ambi- (“both”) + dexter (“right”), thus literally “both hands being like a right hand”. By surface analysis, ambi- (“both”) + dextrous (“skillful; agile”). The Latin word is first attested in the Vetus Latina, calquing Ancient Greek ἀμφοτεροδέξιος (amphoterodéxios) in Judges 3:15 after the Septuagint, itself translating Hebrew אִטֵּר יַד יְמִינוֹ (iṭṭēr yaḏ yəmīnō, literally “bound in his right hand”). This phrase is now generally translated as “left-handed”; the Septuagint translation is either from a variant reading or from a different interpretation.

In classic literature

Synonyms

two-handed

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