Shouldn't a naïve man be called 'naïf', and shouldn't dexterity with the left hand, such as a man fastening shirt buttons, be called 'sinisterity'? Just idle curiosity.
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02-15-03, 09:21 AM
maiku
Not only that, Ewood. I've long argued that the left-handed sugar levulose (the optically opposite isomer of dextrose) ought to be called sinistrose.

Actually, I still encounter the form naïf in print from time to time, particularly as a noun, though. Smile

02-15-03, 02:49 PM
FredPuli
That simple man is sometimes left his masculinity, but rarely ,because the adjective is now 'English', I suppose, having passed through linguistic immigration and been given a right of residence. If he is really faking,so 'faux naif', he is not only given his gender he is usually italicised too ( "well,dammit, he must really be a foreigner chappie, obviously, by Jove!")! Typically, however, we have allowed his adjective to keep its accent . In contrast, somebody who is affianced finds their gender important, so their noun has the distinction too . The left-hander may be 'ambidextrous' ( Latin, literally ' right hands both' ). The O.E.D gives 'sinisterity'. It defines it as 'lack of dexterity, clumsiness (early C17); sinister character or quality ( mid-C17- mid C18 ) and left-handedness ( C19). It also gives 'sinistrous' as the same as 'sinister' but only in meanings suggesting ill (underhand, corrupt etc.) not in the meaning 'of the left-hand'. He/she is 'a sinistral', though.Levulose was once written 'laevulose' but either way it is above such criticism.The prefix 'laevo-' or 'levo-' is from ,usually poetic, Latin 'laevus' meaning 'left, on the left side'; indeed the left hand itself is 'laeva'. ('Sinister' and 'sinistra' are the alternative, more prosaic, words).

[This message was edited by FredPuli on 02-15-03 at 03:04 PM.]

02-15-03, 03:09 PM
maiku

quote:Originally posted by FredPuli:The prefix 'laevo-' or 'levo-' is from ,usually poetic, Latin 'laevus' meaning 'left, on the left side'; indeed the left hand itself is 'laeva'. ('Sinister' and 'sinistra' are the alternative, more prosaic, words).



Exactly, Fred. Now I ask you, what could be more prosaic than fructose (of which levulose (so-called) and dextrose are both forms)? I still say it should be sinistrose. Smile

02-15-03, 06:46 PM
FredPuli
And there was I thinking that science was romantic and poetically beautiful ! Bet when they named it they were touched by its beauty and couldn't bring themselves to call it sinister, however put.

02-16-03, 03:17 AM
Ewood27
If nothing else, I know now why sugar tongs are always held in the right hand, on the presumption that one is not being served left-handed sugar. Or am I just being naïve?

My original question was not about left-handedness, nor 'cack-handedness' (clumsiness to those who don't know the word), but about the deftness a normal right-handed person still has with his (or her, or its) left hand at certain tasks.

[This message was edited by Ewood27 on 02-16-03 at 03:26 AM.]

02-16-03, 10:35 AM
FredPuli
Ewood 27. I see. Well,the right-hander who uses his left hand deftly, as well as he uses his right, is ambidextrous, generally or specifically. If generally he is an 'ambidexter' and has 'ambidexterity' (Latin as above).Otherwise he/she is a unidexter, presumably ( not, I hope, just a word invented by Peter Cook to describe Dudley Moore, who was playing a one-legged man auditioning for Tarzan; quote " I've got nothing against your right leg. The trouble is- neither have you "). No word 'ambisinister' (-ity) is yet found; anyway, if the child was born that way how could you tell it wasn't an ambidexter who was pretending??

02-16-03, 10:50 AM
methos
Interesting discussion, but there's a little flaw in the sugar part of it. Dextrose is not a form of fructose, it is a form of glucose.

02-16-03, 11:14 AM
Ewood27
Thank you, Fred. As unperturbable and impenetrable as ever. Oh, you forgot unisinister.

And Methos, you raise an interesting point. Fructose and levulose are words of Latin origin, unless I miss my guess. Sucrose, according to Merriam-Webster, is from the French, therefore also presumably from a Latin root. Why is glucose used, when the word is derived from the Greek γλυκυς?

02-16-03, 12:32 PM
methos
Not sure if this explains it, as it may just mean that a frenchman named the chemical, but this site says that glucose comes to us from French (who got it from Greek, as you say).
http://www.etymonline.com/g2etym.htm

02-16-03, 01:20 PM
juanruiz
Sucrose is from the French (sucre) which is, in turn, from the Arabic sukkar.

02-16-03, 03:06 PM
Ewood27
OK, so we have one Arabic>French, one Greek>French and two Latin. Such a mixture seems less of an oddity than three Latin and one Greek. Thanks.

02-16-03, 03:27 PM
methos
I'm sure it gets even more mixed up when you consider the less common sugars like galactose, xylose, psicose, mycarose, lactose, and pyranose.

02-16-03, 06:19 PM
FredPuli
Nope, Methos 5000. All Greek except lactose (Latin) where, oddly, the stem means the same as in galactose ( i.e.milk) All are modelled on the form of the word glucose. (How did all this comversation start , anyway ? I forget.)

02-17-03, 06:17 AM
Ewood27
Thanks, Fred. It all started with naive (which has run into the ground) and dexterous, which became transmogrified and discombobulated into dextrose.

It's still words and language though - and how many threads have you seen before which have wandered off the subject? This sure ain't the first!

02-28-03, 02:44 PM
juanruiz
You guys must never have visited the (about to be late and lamented) Wetsern Religions board, where hijacking a thread took on the role of an art form.

03-02-03, 06:05 PM
babthrower
How do you describe an armless person who is quite adept at using a mouth stick?

He's not ambidextrous, dextrous or even sinistrous.

Naive comes from the feminine form of the French adjective, and this is unusual. I guess it is because the masculine form naif is not analagous to common English forms. I can't think of one four-letter adjective ending in 'f'. Naive looks more at home in English.

Naif would be pronounced 'na-IFF' which sounds suspiciously like the slang 'naff' meaning silly or substandard. I wonder...

03-03-03, 02:31 AM
Ewood27
Bab, to be serious for a moment (a rarity in this thread), our armless unfortunate would still be dexterous. Atomica's thesaurus says:

dexterous
adjective

Showing art or skill in performing or doing : adroit, artful, deft, skillful.
Exhibiting or possessing skill and ease in performance : adroit, clever, deft, facile, handy, nimble, slick.

And juan, I have taken the occasional look at the Religions forum, and recoiled in horror. However, while we are thinking of heavenly things, I wonder if galactose is extracted from the Milky Way? There is, after all, a gooey over-sweetened chocolate bar of that name sold in the UK.

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