Sinister
The Latin word for left, sinister, came to mean ill-omened, and left-handers were once associated with the devil.
Body superstition
Left hand superstitions
Left hand superstitions: the left hand is unlucky, unclean, or receives rather than gives. First recorded: Roman era — "sinister" is simply Latin for left. That makes it around 2,000 years old — joint 15th oldest of the 45 superstitions we have dated.
- Earliest record
- Roman era see the history below
When it actually starts
How old is this one
First recorded
Roman era — "sinister" is simply Latin for left
That makes it
around 2,000 years old
Rank by age
Joint 15th oldest of 45 dated here
Category
Body
Left-handedness runs at about 10% of people, and minority status alone attracted suspicion. Latin sinister meant left, and in Roman augury the left was the lucky side; the unlucky sense came later, under the influence of Greek omen-reading, where the right was favorable.
Why it stuck. A stable 10% minority guarantees the belief never dies out for lack of examples, and never becomes universal enough to be tested.
14 of the dated superstitions here were written down earlier and 18 later, while 12 share its date.
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The versions people follow
What exactly is believed
Itchy left hand
An itch on the left hand means money leaving.
Left foot first
Stepping out of bed or into a new house left foot first is said to bring bad luck for the day.
Giving with the left hand
In many cultures across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia the left hand is not used to give or eat.
How the bad luck is traditionally undone
If you step out with the left foot, the remedy is to go back to bed and get up again on the right side.
Where it lives today
Children were forced to write right-handed well into the twentieth century; left-handedness is now understood as a normal variation, around one person in ten.
What people say
The left hand is unlucky, unclean, or receives rather than gives.What is going on
Left-handers were forcibly retrained in schools well into the 1970s. The superstition had physical consequences for millions of children.Where it applies. Strongest where the left hand is reserved for hygiene — much of the Middle East, South Asia and West Africa.
Nearest in age
Left hand superstitions are joint 15th oldest of the 45 dated superstitions here. Of those, 3 date from 1900 or later and 14 predate the common era.
First-recorded dates are the earliest documented appearance in written sources, not the earliest possible origin — an unrecorded practice can be older. How the dating works and where it is uncertain →
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Left Hand Superstitions: Origin, Meaning and When It Began.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/superstitions/left-hand/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Left Hand Superstitions: Origin, Meaning and When It Began |url=https://astrohot.com/superstitions/left-hand/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}