English → Latin
“left” in Latin
reliquusremaining; surviving; the rest, the remaindersinisterleft; perverse, bad; or adverse, hostile; auspicious (for Romans) or inauspicious (for Greeks)laevusleft; on the left side; clumsy, awkward; foolishsinistrōrsustowards the left
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
left
participle adjective, reliquus.
left adj.
sinister (on or from the left side, ἀριστερός); laevus (opposed to right; hence also = awkward, unskilful, the Greek λαιός; in the prose of the golden period more rare than sinister): ☞ scaevus (σκαιός) in its proper signification, left, is obsolete. The left hand, sinistra maims; laeva manus; or simply, sinistra (opposed to dextra): to the left, ad sinistram; ad laevam; sinistrorsus; sinistrorsum (toward the left side); a sinistra parte; a sinistra; sinistra; laeva: (on the left side).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for left?
- The usual Latin words for “left” are reliquus, sinister, laevus; also sinistrōrsus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.