The word "sinister" comes from a Latin word referring to what group? It refers to lefties, meaning left-handed people. The Latin adjective sinister originally meant “left” or “on the left side,” especially in expressions involving the left hand.
Over time, the word picked up negative associations. In Roman and other ancient omen-reading traditions, the meaning of a sign from the left could depend on the observer’s orientation and cultural tradition. In later European usage, left-sidedness was often treated as unfavorable, helping sinister develop meanings such as unlucky, threatening, or evil.
The English word therefore preserves an old directional meaning while adding a moral one. It is related conceptually, though not directly as an English synonym, to dexterous: Latin dexter meant “right” and produced words associated with skill and ability. Left-handedness itself is not sinister in any real-world sense; the negative meaning reflects historical prejudice and symbolism.
A common mix-up is to treat “sinister” as if it originally meant evil. Its earliest Latin sense was physical direction—left—which later became connected with ominous or harmful things.