sinister 
Is it so strange a matter to find a good thing furthered 
by ill men of a sinister intent and purpose? 
Hooker, Ecules. Polity, iv. !). 
We take cunning for a sinister or crooked wisdom. 
Bacon, running (ed. 1S87). 
I hope . . . you'll . . . not impute to me any imperti- 
nence or sinister design. 
Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, iv. 
Bend sinister, bendlet sinister, etc. See the nouns 
Sinister aspect, in astral., an appearance of two planets 
happening according to the succession of the signs, as 
Saturn in Aries and JIars in the same degree of Gemini. 
Sinister canton, in her., a canton occupying the sin- 
ister chief of the escutcheon : a rare bearing. Sinister 
diagonal of a matrix, the diagonal from the upper right- 
hand to the lower left-hand corner. 
Sinister-handed (siu'is-ter-han"ded), a. Left- 
handed; sinister; hence, unlucky; unfortu- 
nate. [Bare.] 
That which still makes her mirth to flow 
Is our sinister-handed woe. 
Lovelace, Lucasta Laughing. 
Sinisterly (sin'is-ter-li), a(h: In a sinister 
manner, (o) In a manner boding or threatening evil ; 
inauspiciouBly ; unfavorably. (6) Wrongly ; wrongfully 
wickedly. 
You told me you had got a grown estate 
By griping means, sinintcrly. 
B. Jonson, Staple of News, v. 1. 
sinisterness (sin'is-ter-ues), . The state or 
character of being sinister. Bp. Ganden. 
sinisterouslyt, adv. An obsolete form of sinis- 
trunsli/. 
sinistfa (si-nis'tra), ach: [It., < L. sinistra, fern, 
of sinister, left : see sinister."] In music, with the 
left hand : marking a note or passage that is to 
be performed with the left hand in preference 
to the right. See also M. S. and M. G. 
Sinistrad (sin'is-trad), adv. [< L. sinister, left, 
+ ad, toward (see -arfp).] Toward the left ; on 
the left hand in relative situation; sinistrally : 
opposed to dextrad : as, the arch of the aorta 
curves sinistrad in mammals, dextrad in birds; 
the descending aorta lies a little sinistrad ot the 
vertebral column in man. 
sinistral (sin'is-tral), a. [< L. sinister, left, + 
-al.'] 1. Of or pertaining to the left side ; sit- 
uated on the left hand ; not dextral ; sinister ; 
sinistrous. 2. In concli., reversed from the 
usual, right, or dextral curve, as the whorls of 
a spiral shell; whorled toward the left; sinis- 
trorse ; heterostrophous. The genus Physa Is an ex- 
ample. Some species, genera, etc., of shells are normally 
Binistral. In some other cases, specimens of shells are sin- 
istral as an individual peculiarity, as in the case cited un- 
der chank'i. See cuts under reverse and Physa. 
3. In ichth., having both eyes on the left side 
of the head, as certain flatfishes. 4f. Sinis- 
ter; wrong. 
They gather their sinistral opinion, as I hear say, of St. 
Paul to the Hebrews. Becon, Works, p. 95. (Halliwell.) 
sinistrality (sin-is-tral'i-ti), H. [< sinistral + 
-ity.] The state or character of being sinistral, 
in any sense. Proceedings of U. S. National 
Museum, XI. 604. 
sinistrally (sin'is-tral-i), a<7r. Sinistrad; in a 
sinistral direction; to or toward the left ; from 
rig_ht to left. 
sinistration (sin-is-tra'shon), n. l<li.sinister, 
left, + -ation.] A turning to the left; deflec- 
tion sinistrad ; the state of being sinistral. 
Sinistrobranchiat (sin"is-tro-brang'ki-ii), n.pl. 
[NL., < L. sinister, left, + &L. bronchia, gills: 
see branchia, TO. 2] A group of tectibranehiate 
gastropods, supposed to have been based on a 
doridoid turned upside down. D'Orbigny, 1835- 
sinistrobranchiate (sin"is-tro-brang'ki-at), . 
Having gills on the left side; 'of or pertaining 
to the 8ini>itr<ibranclii<t. 
sinistrocerebral (sm"is-tro-ser'e-bral), a. Sit- 
uated or occurring in the left cerebral hemi- 
sphere: opposed to dextrocercbral : as, a sinis- 
trocerebral center ; a sinistrocerebral lesion. 
Proc. Soc. Psychical Research, III. 43. 
Sinistrpgyric (sin"is-tro-ji'rik), a. [< L. sinis- 
ter, left, + (Jijrare, pp. (/t/ratus, turn: see gyre.'] 
Tending, moving, or otherwise acting from 
right to left ; sinistrorse in action or motion. 
All movements of the hand from left to right are dextro- 
gyric and those from right to left are rinintrogyric. 
Amer. Jour. Psychol., I. 194. 
sinistrorsal (sin-is-tror'sal), a. [< sinistrorse 
+ -al.] Same as sinistrorse. G. Johnston, tr. 
of Cuvier's R&gne Animal. 
sinistrorse (sin'is-trors), a. [< L. sinistrorsiis, 
toward the left , for "sinistroversui, < sinister, left, 
on the left, + rcrsus, pp. of vertere, turn.] 1. 
Turned or turning to the left ; directed sinis- 
trad; sinistrorsal: same as sinistral, but im- 
plying motion or direction rather than rest or 
355 
5649 
position. 2. In but,, rising from left to right, 
as a climbing plant. For the antagonistic 
senses in which dejctrorse and consequently its 
opposite xiiiix/nirsc are used, see dextrorse. 
sinistrous (sili'is-tnis), a. [< sinister, left, + 
-*.] 1. Same as xinistral, 1, or sinister, 1. 
2. Ill-omened; inauspicious; unlucky. 
An English traveller noticed in his journal, as a 'ts- 
trous omen, that when Louis le Ddsire after his exile 
stepped on France he did not put the right foot foremost. 
N. and Q., 7th ser., VIII. 206. 
3f. Malicious; malignant; evil. 
A knave or fool can do no harm, even by the most sinis- 
trmus and absurd choice. Bentley. 
sinistrously (sin'is-trus-li), adr. In a sinis- 
trous manner, (a) With reference to the left side; 
hence, specifically, with a tendency sinistrad, or an incli- 
nation to use the left instead of the right hand. (6J In- 
auspiciously ; unluckily, (ct) Wrongly ; wickedly; mali- 
ciously. 
Sink (singk), c. ; pret. sank or sunk, pp. sunk or 
ximkfii (the second form rare except when used 
as a participial adjective). [Formerly also 
stuck; (a) < ME. sink-en, sunken, intr. (pret. sank, 
sonic, pi. sunken, sonken, pp. sunken, sonken, sonk), 
< AS. sincan, intr. (pret. sane, pi. suncon, pp. xnn- 
cen), = OS. sinkan = D. zinken = MLG.LG. sinken 
= OHG. siuelian, MHG. G. sinken = Icel. sokkva 
(for *sonkca) = Sw. sjunlca = Dan. synke = Goth. 
sigkican, sigi/kwan, (for "sinkwan, *singkwan), 
sink; (6) < ME. *senken, senchen, < AS. sencan, 
tr., cause to sink (= OS. senkian = OHG. sen- 
chan, MHG. G. senken = Sw. sanka = Dan. 
sxnke = Goth, saggkwan, cause to sink, im- 
merse), causal of sincan, sink; prob. a nasalized 
form of the root appearing in Skt. as sich (nasal- 
ized pres. sificati), pour out, and in AS. "sihan, 
sigan, etc., let fall, sink : see sie 1 , sile^,] I. in- 
trans. 1. To fall or decline by the force of 
gravity, as in consequence of the absence or 
removal of a support; settle or be lowered from 
a height or surface through a medium of slight 
resistance, as water, air, sand, etc. ; specifically, 
to become submerged in deep water, as in the 
sea. 
Erthe denede [quaked] sone in that stede, 
And opnede vnder ere f et ; 
Held up neither ston ne gret[grit], 
Alle he sunken the erthe with-in. 
Genesis and Exodus (E. E. T. S.), 1. 3775. 
My lord Barnard shall knowe of this, 
Whether I gink or swim. 
Little Musgraceand fMdy Barnard (Child's Ballads, II. 17). 
They had lost 100. men In the Admiral!, which they did 
feare would sinke ere she could recover a Port. 
Capt. John Smith, True Travels, I. 54. 
Like buoys, that never sink into the flood, 
On Learning's surface we but lie and nod. 
Pope, Dunciad, iv. 241. 
2. To fall or fail, as from weakness, or under 
a heavy blow, burden, or strain : as, to sink into 
a chair ; literally or figuratively, to droop ; suc- 
cumb. 
He sunk down in his chariot. 2 Ki. ix. 24. 
Then comes repentance, and, with his bad legs, falls 
into the cinque pace faster and faster, till he st'/i* into his 
grave. Shale., Much Ado, ii. 1. 83. 
So much the vital spirits sink 
To see the vacant chair, and think, 
" How good ! how kind ! and he is gone." 
Tennyson, In Meraoriam, xx. 
3. To descend or decline toward or below the 
horizon ; specifically, of the sun, moon, etc., to 
set. 
O setting sun, 
As in thy red rays thou dost gink to night, 
So in his red blood Cassius' day is set. 
Shak., J. C., v. 3. 61. 
4. To be turned downward ; be downcast. 
The eye of Bonython 
Sinks at that low, sepulchral tone. 
Whittier, Mogg Megone, i. 
5. To enter or penetrate deeply ; be absorbed : 
either literal or figurative in use ; specifically, 
of paint, varnish, and the like, to disappear be- 
low the surface into the substance of the body 
to which it is applied, so that the intended effect 
is lost. 
The stone iunk into his forehead. 1 Sam. xvil. 49. 
That which sinks deepest into me is the Sense I have of 
the common Calamities of this Nation. 
Howell, Letters, I. vi. 50. 
These easy minds, where all impressions made 
At first sink deeply, and then quickly fade. 
Crabbe, Works, IV. 69. 
6. To fall in; become or seem hollow: chiefly 
used in the past participle: as, sunken cheeks 
or eyes. 
A lean cheek, ... a blue eye and sunken. 
Shak., As you Like it, iii. 2. 893. 
sink 
Her temples were sunk, her forehead was tense, and a 
fatul paleness sat upon her cheek. 
Goldsmith, Vicar, xiviii. 
7. To become lower; slope or incline down- 
ward ; slant. 
Beyond the road the ground sinks gradually as far as the 
ditch. 
Comic de Paris, Civil War in America (trans.), II. 572. 
8. To decrease or be reduced in volume, bulk, 
extent, amount, or the like ; subside ; decline. 
Canals are carried along the highest parts of the coun- 
try, that the water may have a fall from them to all other 
parts when the Nile sinks. 
Pococke, Description of the East, 1. 199. 
Down nini the flames, and with a hiss expire. 
Pope, Dunciad, i. 200. 
The value [of superfluities], as it rises in times of opu- 
lence and prosperity, so it sinks In times of poverty and 
distress. Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations, I. xi. 3. 
9. To be lowered in pitch ; 1'alltoalowerpitch: 
said of musical sounds, or of a voice or instru- 
ment. 
Mordecai's voice had sunk, but with the hectic bril- 
liancy of his gaze it was not the less impressive. 
George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, xlli. 
10. To settle down; become settled or spread 
abroad. 
It ceased, the melancholy sound ; 
And silence sunk on all around. 
Scott, Marmion, iii. 12. 
With stars and sea- winds in her raiment, 
Night ginks on the sea. 
Swinburne, Laus Veneris, Ded. 
11. To be reduced to a lower or worse state; 
degenerate ; deteriorate ; become debased or 
depraved. 
When men are either too rude and illiterate to he able 
to weigh and to dispute the truth of it [new religion], or 
too much sunk in sloth and vice to be willing to do it. 
Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, I. iii. 
The favourite of the people [ Pitt] rose to supreme power, 
while his rival [Fox] sank into insignificance. 
Macaulay, William Pitt. 
12. To be destroyed or lost; perish. 
Tho that ben ofte drunke, 
Thrift is from hem sunkc. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 39. 
For every false drop in her bawdy veins 
A Grecian's life hath sunk. 
Shak., T. and C., iv. 1. 70. 
Now for a trick to rid us of this Clowne, 
Or our trade sinks, and up our house is blowne. 
Bronte, Sparagus Garden, iv. 11. 
13. To settle or subside, as into rest or indo- 
lence. 
How, Lucia ! Wouldst thou have me sink away 
In pleasing dreams? Addison, Cato, i. 6. 
Pater-familias might be seen or heard sinking into a 
pleasant doze. George Eliot, Mr. GilfiTs Love Story, i. 
14. To swim deep, as a school of fish ; specifi- 
cally, to pass below a net. 15. To squat, 
crouch, or cower and draw (itself) into closest 
compass, as a game-bird or -animal in order 
to withhold the scent as far as possible. = Sm 
1-4. To drop, droop. 11. To lessen, dwindle. 
II. trans. 1. To force or drag gradually down- 
ward; immerse; submerge; whelm; engulf. 
The king has cured roe, 
. . . and from these shoulders . . . taken 
A load would sink a navy. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., iii. 2. 383. 
2. To cause to decline or droop ; hence, figura- 
tively, to depress. 
Doth it [drowsiness] not then our eyelids sink' I find not 
Myself disposed to sleep. Shak., Tempest, ii. 1. 201. 
To looke humanly on y state of things as they present- 
ed them selves at this time, it is a marvell it did not wholy 
discourage them and sinck them. 
Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 208. 
She sank her head upon her arm. 
Tennyson, Talking Oak. 
3. To excavate downward, as in mining: as, 
to sink a shaft ; to sink a well. 
AtHasseah, . . . aboutseven leagues south eastof Hems 
I saw a ruined work, like a large pond or cistern, sunk a 
considerable way down in the rock, and walled round 
Pococke, Description of the East, II. i. 136. 
4. To place or set by excavation : as, to sink a 
post. 
She saw that the last tenants had had a pump sunk for 
them, and resented the innovation. 
Mrs. Gaskell, Sylvia's Lovers, xxxiii. 
5. To diminish or reduce in tone, volume, bulk, 
extent, amount, etc.; lower: as, to szwA the voice 
to a whisper ; the news of war sinks the value 
of stocks. 
It was usual for his late most Christian Majesty to sink 
the value of their louis d'ors about the time he was to re- 
ceive the taxes of his good people. 
Addition, Freeholder, No. 18. 
6. To degrade in character or in moral or social 
estimation; debase; lower. 
