sinistre (French)
Where does "sinistre" come from?
Derived from the Latin word 'sinister', this term originally referred to the left-hand side, which was ironically considered 'more favorable' in early Roman augury. Over time, the association shifted from a lucky omen to an unlucky one, entering Old French as 'senestre' before being re-borrowed in its current form to describe things that are scary or ominous.
Full etymology tree
- sinistre (French), 'scary'
- borrowed sinister (Latin), 'left'
- inherited *senisteros (Proto-Italic)
- derived *senh₂-is- (Proto-Indo-European)
- suffix *senh₂- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to obtain'
- derived *senh₂-is- (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *senisteros (Proto-Italic)
- borrowed sinister (Latin), 'left'
Ancestors
Updated May 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris