leftwardadv.n.adj.
/ˈlɛftwəd/, U.S. /ˈlɛf(t)wərd/ A. adv.
1. On the left-hand side; in the region to the left of a person or thing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > quality of having sides or being a side > [adverb] > on the left
lefta1400
leftward?c1475
sinister1675
the world > space > relative position > quality of having sides or being a side > alongside [phrase] > on the right or left
leftward?c1475
on (also to) the (also my, your, etc.) left1594
rightward1801
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 72 Leftwarde, leuorsum, senistrorsum.
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. lxxxxviv Many a thousande Fast rennyth leftwarde, but fewe on the right hande.
1658 J. Palmer Catholique Planisphær 205 The Fiducial edge of the middle Sight of the Transom must so answer this Ey-hole, that it keep the same distance from the side of the Radius leftward.
1744 Norfolk Poet. Misc. I. 188 Leftward, two twin-born Fiends his Ear engage.
1801 R. Southey Thalaba II. vi. 18 Rightward and leftward rise the rocks.
1898 G. W. Steevens Egypt xix. 220 Leftward and behind us is the desert.
1912 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. (1913) 5 39 L and R indicate whether the standard was leftward or rightward of the variable.
1965 Oxf. Econ. Papers 17 211 This process will continue so long as the ICC is leftward of LL'.
2001 T. R. Kimball in R. C. Baker Pediatric Primary Care: Ill-child Care iv. xvii. 93 There is almost always a rudimentary ventricular chamber that usually sits leftward and anterior to the main ventricular chamber.
2.
a. Towards the left; in the direction of the left hand.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > sideways movement or a sideways movement > [adverb] > to the left
leftsomesa1398
lefta1400
leftward1579
leftwards1585
leftwise1830
sinistrally1838
left-handed1909
the world > space > direction > specific directions > [phrase] > from the side > in direction of left side
leftward1579
the world > space > direction > specific directions > [adverb] > in sideways direction > to right and left > towards the left
aleftc1330
leftsomesa1398
lefta1400
leftward1579
leftwards1585
toward1711
sinistrally1838
left-handed1851
leftwardly1892
1579 L. Digges & T. Digges Stratioticos 2 Reckning all the characters afore that point leftward.
1649 J. Bulwer Pathomyotomia ii. i. 50 So if the Right Muscle only be contracted, the Head drawne by oblique fibres, obliquely assents Leftward.
1717 N. Tate & W. Stonestreet in J. Dryden et al. tr. Ovid Metamorphoses vii. 236 Now Leftward with an easy Sail he bore.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. xii. 150 Leftward he drove furious.
1829 W. Scott Anne of Geierstein I. ix. 285 We have yet, keeping leftward..nearly a mile to make.
1885 R. McConkey Hero of Cowpens xiii. 118 He [sc. Burgoyne] extended his intrenchments leftward to the river-bank.
1911 M. Beerbohm Zuleika Dobson (1922) viii. 145 Alighting with the legerity of a cat, he swerved leftward..and was off.
1981 Antiquaries Jrnl. 61 i. 36 The damaged figures at centre left—a woman, with a man striding leftward—therefore represent Rhea Silvia.
2006 Spin-off Spring 51/1 Move your thumb leftward.
b. Towards or in the direction of the political left.
ΚΠ
1893 Daily News 5 Dec. 6/2 M. Goblet, if Premier, could not have gone much farther leftward.
1930 tr. L.Trotsky My Life vi. 98 I repudiated my assumption of conservatism and swung Leftward with such speed that it even frightened away some of my new friends.
1957 Economist 28 Dec. 1119/1 The Singapore city council elections last Saturday may be taken as an accurate indication of the political trend in the island colony. That trend is clearly leftward.
1973 Listener 15 Nov. 668/1 I was rather Conservative as a young man. I've moved gently leftward.
2011 Independent 17 Aug. (Viewspaper section) 5/4 Republicans have been driven ever rightward and Democrats leftward.
B. n.
The direction or region to the left (of something). Frequently as to (the) leftward (of).
ΚΠ
1585 J. Banister Wecker's Compend. Chyrurg. iv. 512 Appoynt two ministers to applye their handes to the fracture..which may by pulling the member..the one to the right hande, the other to the lefte warde: in iust order, ioyne againe the broken partes of the bone.
1644 J. Bulwer Chirologia 43 The Hand propellent to the leftward.
1794 J. Beresford tr. Virgil Æneid ix. 349 The Father heard, and from the clear of Heav'n Gave thunder to the leftward.
1848 A. H. Clough Bothie of Toper-na-Fuosich ix. 69 Is it well that the soldier whose post is far to the left-ward Say, I will go to the right?
1883 Cent. Mag. 27 33 A trail strikes up the main hill to the leftward.
1915 Forum Feb. 212 Salcombe Hill and four hills more Lie to leftward of this shore.
1954 A. A. Roback Destiny & Motivation in Lang. ix. 204 After Ethiopia was forced to accept Christianity, the Semitic aspect was probably reduced, eg, by reversing the direction of writing from leftward to rightward.
2009 A. Atkins Sci. & Engin. Cutting iii. 68 The resultant force..starts progressively shifting from rightward to leftward.
C. adj.
1. Situated on the left; directed or tending towards the left.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > quality of having sides or being a side > [adjective] > situated at the side > left
winstereOE
lefta1200
car1279
wrong?a1400
left hand1440
sinister1483
sinistral1534
left-hand side1581
nar1607
sinistrous1646
nigh1722
left-handed1757
larboard1781
leftward1791
sinistrine1792
left-sided1801
toward1866
the world > space > direction > specific directions > [adjective] > having sideways direction > directed towards the left
left hand1581
leftward1886
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey in Iliad & Odyssey II. iii. 59 A smooth rock, steep Toward the sea, against whose leftward point [Gk. σκαιὸν ῥίον] Phæstus by name, the South wind rolls the surge Amain.
1825 Blackwood's Mag. 18 452 'Twas the leftward corridor She glided down.
1886 W. R. Evans Rustic Walking Routes 1st Ser. 20 In five-eighths of a mile, just beyond a leftward bend.
1946 R. H. Lowie tr. C. Nimuendaju Eastern Timbira iv. 223 All made flying movements with a leftward lunge and outstretched arms.
1986 D. Koontz Strangers i. ii. 100 Although he had 20-20 vision, his left eye had a leftward cast.
2001 Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) 18 May 21/1 The captain tried to overcome the leftward drift by turning the rudder to the right.
2. That tends or moves towards the political left.
ΚΠ
1882 Edinb. Evening News 28 Jan. The most probable supposition is that M. de Freycinet will form a Cabinet.., the members of what had been called the Conservative Left joining it with a distinctly Left-ward leaning.
1898 L. W. Bacon Hist. Amer. Christianity xv. 251 Is it quite sure..that the Unitarian ministers would not have been a great deal better off if they had remained in connection with a strong and conservative right wing, which might counterbalance the exorbitant leftward flights of their more impatient and erratic spirits?
1939 H. G. Wells Holy Terror iii. i. 220 The Group turned its attention to the existing leftward papers.
1973 Guardian 10 Mar. 1/5 Mr Roy Jenkins..is calling on those who share his views..to dig in their feet against what is seen as a dangerous Leftward drift.
2007 Esquire July 102/1 With almighty oil on his side, the man from Barinas is better armed to frighten Washington, pushing a self-concocted socialist revolution at home and a leftward turn in the region.
3. Designating (a method of) welding in which the torch is angled away from the welded portion of the join and is preceded by the filling rod.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > [adjective] > of welding: from right to left
leftward1935
1935 Welding Industry July 206/1 Considerable trial and experiment have established the fact that the leftward method can be used advantageously for welding steel up to about 1/8 in. thick.
1941 A. C. Davies Sci. & Pract. Welding iii. 143 Leftward or Forward Welding..is used nowadays for welding steel plate under ¼in. thick and for welding non-ferrous metals.
1972 A. C. Davies Sci. & Pract. Welding (ed. 6) 182 The weld proceeds in the leftward manner, with a slight sideways motion of the blowpipe.
2002 R. D. Treloar Plumbing: Heating & Gas Installations (ed. 2) i. 50 With the leftward welding technique, the filler rod precedes the blowpipe and the weld progresses from right to left with the blowpipe nozzle pointing in the direction of the unwelded surfaces.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adv.n.adj.?c1475