Contextualizebeta

ambilevous

adj
/ˌæmbɪˈliːvəs/UK

Etymology

First attested in English in 1646: from Latin ambilaevus (ambi- (“both”) + laevus (“left”)), a calque of Ancient Greek ἀμφαρίστερος (ampharísteros, “with two left hands, awkward, clumsy”) from ἀμφί (amphí, “on both sides”) + ἀριστερός (aristerós, “left”).

  1. learned borrowing from ἀμφαρίστερος
  2. learned borrowing from ambilaevus

Definitions

  1. Having equally bad ability in both hands

    Having equally bad ability in both hands; clumsy; butterfingered.

    • Whereas the ambidextrous person is regarded as one who is capable of using both hands with equal dexterity, there are others, referred to as ambilevous, who use both hands equally awkwardly.
    • The ambilevous (the opposite of ambidextrous) child is unable to use either hand more skillfully than the other, but is equally awkward in the use of each.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for ambilevous. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA