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Dexter
Dexter ♂ Transferred use of the surname. Although this is now a male given name, the word that gave rise to the surname originally denoted a female dyer, from Old English dēag ‘dye’ + -estre, feminine ending of agent nouns. However, the distinction of gender was already lost in Middle English. The name coincides in form with Latin dexter ‘right-handed, auspicious’, and may sometimes have been chosen because of this.
Short form: Dex. Pet form: Dexy. |
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Cite this article
PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Dexter." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Dexter." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Dexter.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Dexter." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Dexter.html |
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dexter
dex·ter1 / ˈdekstər/ • adj. archaic & Heraldry of, on, or toward the right-hand side (in a coat of arms, from the bearer's point of view, i.e., the left as it is depicted). The opposite of sinister. dex·ter2 • n. an animal of a small, hardy breed of Irish cattle. |
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Cite this article
"dexter." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "dexter." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-dexter.html "dexter." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-dexter.html |
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dexter
dexter (her.) right-hand. XVI. — L. dexter, compar. formation, f. IE. base seen also in Gr. dexiós on the right hand (with Indo-Iran., Balto-Slav., Gmc., Celt., and Alb. cogns.); the primary meaning passes sometimes into ‘adroit’.
So dexterity XVI. — F. — L. Hence dext(e)rous XVII. |
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "dexter." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "dexter." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-dexter.html T. F. HOAD. "dexter." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-dexter.html |
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dexter
dexter in heraldry, of, on, or towards the right-hand side (in a coat of arms, from the bearer's point of view, i.e. the left as it is depicted). The opposite of sinister. The term is recorded from the mid 16th century and comes from Latin, ‘on the right’.
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Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "dexter." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "dexter." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-dexter.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "dexter." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-dexter.html |
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dexter
dexter
•abetter, begetter, better, bettor, biretta, bruschetta, carburettor (US carburetor), debtor, feta, fetter, forgetter, getter, go-getter, Greta, Henrietta, letter, Loretta, mantelletta, operetta, petter, Quetta, setter, sinfonietta, sweater, upsetter, Valletta, vendetta, whetter
•bisector, collector, connector, convector, corrector, defector, deflector, detector, director, ejector, elector, erector, hector, injector, inspector, nectar, objector, perfecter, projector, prospector, protector, rector, reflector, rejector, respecter, sector, selector, Spector, spectre (US specter), vector
•belter, delta, helter-skelter, melter, pelta, Shelta, shelter, swelter, welter
•pre-emptor, tempter
•assenter, cementer, centre (US center), concentre (US concenter), dissenter, enter, eventer, fermenter (US fermentor), fomenter, frequenter, inventor, lamenter, magenta, placenta, polenta, precentor, presenter, preventer, renter, repenter, tenter, tormentor
•inceptor, preceptor, receptor, sceptre (US scepter)
•arrester, Avesta, Chester, contester, ester, Esther, fester, fiesta, Hester, investor, jester, Leicester, Lester, molester, Nestor, pester, polyester, protester, quester, semester, sequester, siesta, sou'wester, suggester, tester, trimester, vesta, zester
•Webster • dexter • Leinster
•Dorchester • Poindexter • newsletter
•genuflector • implementer
•experimenter • trendsetter
•epicentre (US epicenter)
•typesetter • jobcentre • photosetter
•Cirencester • interceptor • Sylvester
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Cite this article
"dexter." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "dexter." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-dexter.html "dexter." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-dexter.html |
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