Dictionary

ambidextrous en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˌæm.biˈdɛk.stɹəs/ (UK)
• /ˌæm.bɪˈdɛk.stɹəs/ (US)
• (Southern-England) audio

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.

Meanings

1. Having equal or comparable ability in both hands; in particular, able to write well with both hands.
   • Some are […]ambidextrous or right-handed on both sides; which happeneth only unto strong and athletical bodies, whose heat and spirits are able to afford an ability unto both. 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:
2. Equally usable by left-handed and right-handed people (as a tool or instrument).
3. (archaic) Practising or siding with both parties.
   • All False, Shuffling, and Ambidextrous Dealings. 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC:
4. (humorous) Of a person, bisexual.
5. Exceptionally skillful; adept in more than one medium, genre, style, etc.
   • In a footnote, these admirers will often bemoan Agee as a Renaissance or at least ambidextrous artist in an age of specialization, a vast and turbulent ocean syphoned off through a garden hose; not just a novelist manque but also a frustrated […] 1998, Alan Spiegel, James Agee and the Legend of Himself: A Critical Study, University of Missouri Press, →ISBN, page 12:
   • For years, by every possible device, we have been raising the prices of our agricultural products against the foreign buyers […] by every device known to the ambidextrous tradesman and financier. The result is that we have raised up other and unexpected competitors in the markets of the world. 1884, The British Trade Journal and Export World, page 558:
   • He also played the piano and violin, was an ambidextrous artist, and enjoyed acting. Holidays were spent yachting or canoeing or with his brothers. By 1903, Baden-Powell's military training manual, Aids to Scouting, had become a best-seller,[…] 2014, Pamela Lillian Valemont, Beauty Queen Murder - Allison Baden-Clay, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 49:
   • Michelangelo was a very ambidextrous artist, producing sculptures and frescoes with equal ability.

Forms

Antonyms

ambisinistrous · ambilevous

Deriveds

ambidextrously · ambisextrous · amby · ambi · ambidextrousness

Relateds

ambidexterity · sinistromanual · dextromanual · left-handed · right-handed

Synonyms

both-handed · either-handed · two-handed

Translations (43)

hi सव्यसाची (having equal ability in both hands) · fr ambidextre (having equal ability in both hands) · or ସବ୍ୟସାଚୀ (having equal ability in both hands) · ckb چەپ وڕاستە (having equal ability in both hands) · ca ambidextre (having equal ability in both hands) · sv ambidextriös (having equal ability in both hands) · cy deuddeheuig (having equal ability in both hands) · et mõlemakäelisus (having equal ability in both hands) · el αμφιδέξιος (having equal ability in both hands) · ja 両手利きの (having equal ability in both hands) · gv co-yesh (having equal ability in both hands) · ro ambidextru (having equal ability in both hands) · ar أَضْبَط (having equal ability in both hands) · sv ambidexter (having equal ability in both hands) · sv tvehänt (having equal ability in both hands) · gv co-yesh er dagh laue (having equal ability in both hands) · da ambidekstral (having equal ability in both hands) · sv bådhänt (having equal ability in both hands) · ga comhdheas (having equal ability in both hands) · ko 양손잡이의 (having equal ability in both hands) · io ambidextra (having equal ability in both hands) · id ambidekstrus (having equal ability in both hands) · pt ambidestro (having equal ability in both hands) · syc ܓܘܼܪܕ݁ܡܵܢܵܐ (having equal ability in both hands) · eo ambaŭmana (having equal ability in both hands) · pl oburęczny (having equal ability in both hands) · bn সব্যসাচী (having equal ability in both hands) · de beidhändig (having equal ability in both hands) · sv dubbelhänt (having equal ability in both hands) · cmn 雙手靈巧的 /双手灵巧的 (having equal ability in both hands) · es ambidextro (having equal ability in both hands) · es maniego (having equal ability in both hands) · sa सव्यसाची (having equal ability in both hands) · ru владе́ющий одина́ково хорошо́ обе́ими рука́ми (having equal ability in both hands) · mr सव्यसाची (having equal ability in both hands) · fi molempikätinen (having equal ability in both hands) · nl tweehandig (having equal ability in both hands) · es ambidiestro (having equal ability in both hands) · ms dwicekat (having equal ability in both hands) · it ambidestro (having equal ability in both hands) · mi raparingarua (having equal ability in both hands) · ne सव्यसाची (having equal ability in both hands) · hu kétkezes (having equal ability in both hands)

wikipedia: Vetus Latina · wikipedia: Septuagint · wikipedia: Book of Judges