left wingn.adj.
/ˌlɛft ˈwɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌlɛf(t) ˈwɪŋ/ A. n.
1. The left side of an army or of a naval fleet in battle (as viewed from the rear). Also in extended use.
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society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > unit of army > [noun] > division
battle1330
left winga1450
right winga1450
parsmenta1522
partimenta1522
battalion1589
division1600
battaliaa1616
fight1622
army unit1847
mobile unit1896
air arm1913
reaction force1923
a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) (1988) 144 When þou hast þi lyfte wynge [L. alam sinistram] moche strenger þan þy riȝte wynge or þan þe riȝt whynge of þyn enemy, þanne stuffe wel þy lefte wynge wiþ a stronge companye of horsmen and footmen.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Macc. ix. 16 When they which were of the lefte wynge [L. in sinistro cornu], sawe that the right side was discomfited.
1670 J. Eachard Grounds Contempt of Clergy 47 He falls a fighting with his Text, and makes a pitch'd Battle of it, dividing it into the Right-wing and Left-wing.
1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. to Henry VII II. xxvii. 131 Huntley..after a sharp conflict, put to flight the left wing of the English.
1848 H. H. Wilson Hist. Brit. India 1805–35 III. iv. 149 The European divisions were directed severally against the left and right wings.
1926 Slavonic Rev. 5 44 The right wing of the 4th Army was in the same position. Its left wing..forced Dankl's Army to refuse its right wing.
1979 Mil. Affairs 43 135/1 The Germans' enveloping left wing struck the British lines at Mons.
2011 W. Marvel Tarnished Victory vi. 229 Sherman took four infantry corps with him. Two of them marched as his left wing.
2. Chiefly Politics. The section of a group, political party, system, etc., which favours or supports the views of the left (see left n. 6); (also) the more liberal or reformist section of any religious, philosophical, social, etc., group.
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society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > groups or attitudes right to left > [noun] > the left
left1821
left wing1844
Broad Left1973
1844 Bibliotheca Sacra & Theol. Rev. Feb. 211 He died before the left wing of the Hegelians had advanced their still more progressive theories.
1898 J. E. C. Bodley France II. 427 Significant also is the attitude of the Socialists, who now compose the Radical left wing.
1940 W. Temple Thoughts in War-time iii. 23 The Left Wing tends to identify the Government and the community.
1983 D. Ravitch Troubled Crusade i. 25 No one might reasonably have predicted that alienating both the right and the left wing of the party was a prescient political strategy.
2009 Hoosier Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 30 Aug. (Herald-Times ed.) a8/3 The right wing and the left wing in America are slowly coming together.
2011 J. Wright Heretics ix. 244 He was certainly on the left-wing of English Protestantism.
3. In various team sports.
a. The left side of a team or area of play; those players positioned on this side regarded collectively. Cf. left n. 8.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > characteristics of team ball games > [noun] > players or positions
wing-back1734
goalkeeper1789
outfielder1855
quarter1857
centre fielder1865
outfield1867
quarterback1867
right1867
centre1868
left wing1871
left-back1873
left half-back1873
centre forward1874
left-centre1877
right-centre1877
centre back1878
centre half-back1879
forward1879
back1880
right wing1880
right half-back1881
goaltender1882
right-winger1882
wing1882
centre half1884
left winger1884
inside1886
half1887
custodian1888
left half1888
midfielder1888
left wing1889
right half1889
centreman1890
midfield1890
outside right1890
outfieldsman1891
goalie1894
winger1896
infield1897
inside forward1897
inside right1897
outside forward1897
outside1898
outside left1900
rearguard1904
pivot1911
wing-man1942
keeper1957
link1958
linkman1963
midfield1976
1871 Bell's Life in London & Sporting Chron. 18 Nov. 5/4 Betts..soon seized his opportunity, and by a brilliant run down the left wing turned the ball judiciously to Currie.
1907 Overland Monthly Jan. 85/1 The inside and outside left forwards make up the left wing.
1933 Irish Times 11 Dec. 11/5 O'Keeffe and Neville on the left wing were a big worry to the Dundalk defence.
1974 Liverpool Echo (Football ed.) 4 May 1/3 He raced down the left wing..to cross the ball into the goalmouth.
2013 Navy News Nov. 43/4 Blood showed great determination on the left wing to keep a bouncing ball in play.
b. A position on the (far) left of the field of play, typically an attacking role towards the front of a team; a player who occupies this position. Cf. left winger n. 1.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > characteristics of team ball games > [noun] > players or positions
wing-back1734
goalkeeper1789
outfielder1855
quarter1857
centre fielder1865
outfield1867
quarterback1867
right1867
centre1868
left wing1871
left-back1873
left half-back1873
centre forward1874
left-centre1877
right-centre1877
centre back1878
centre half-back1879
forward1879
back1880
right wing1880
right half-back1881
goaltender1882
right-winger1882
wing1882
centre half1884
left winger1884
inside1886
half1887
custodian1888
left half1888
midfielder1888
left wing1889
right half1889
centreman1890
midfield1890
outside right1890
outfieldsman1891
goalie1894
winger1896
infield1897
inside forward1897
inside right1897
outside forward1897
outside1898
outside left1900
rearguard1904
pivot1911
wing-man1942
keeper1957
link1958
linkman1963
midfield1976
1889 Field 5 Jan. 29/3 The left wings played to each other well, and the backs..were seen at their best.
1931 Irish Times 25 Feb. 11/1 Miss Morrison, the Scottish left wing, was outstanding.
1985 Times 19 Dec. 21/3 His blistering pace and sound defence allied to his ability to cover across field put him in a different class to any other left wing in Ireland.
2008 New Yorker 28 Apr. 22/3 Sean Avery..plays left wing for the New York Rangers.
B. adj.
Characterized by or relating to views which are towards the left of a spectrum of opinion; spec. of, belonging to, or supporting the political left (see left n. 6). Cf. left adj.1 2.
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society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > groups or attitudes right to left > [adjective] > left
left1794
red1848
left wing1873
leftist1895
leftish1899
left-wingish1926
left-wingy1936
lefty1937
left-leaning1938
1873 Ravens on St. Paul's 37 The individual ravens..seemed anxiously impressed with the importance of forcing their particular views..into the heads and hearts of their right or left-wing neighbours.
1909 J. W. Thompson Wars of Relig. in France xi. 325 The fusion of the political Huguenots with the Politiques reduced the ‘religious’ Huguenots to a left-wing minority.
1936 Sun (Baltimore) 11 Mar. 1/3 The AAA Administrator..‘purged’ the AAA of a number of its ‘left wing’ members.
1957 Times Lit. Suppl. 1 Nov. 653/1 Mr Humphreys has been very ambitious here, in an attempt to analyse the relationships between a rich magazine publisher with Left-wing political ambitions and his family.
1972 Times 5 Sept. 2/3 The left-wing challenge over Europe is expected to unseat at least one member of the Labour Party National Executive Committee.
2009 Esquire Mar. 150/3 He had been very left wing at school.
Derivatives
left-ˈwingism n. left-wing politics or ideology; support for these; cf. left-wingery n. at left winger n. Derivatives.
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1923 G. D. H. Cole Workshop Organization 17 The rise of ‘left-wingism’ inside the Trade Union movement.
1963 Guardian 10 May 22/7 Vague Left-Wingism.
1997 S. Scates W. G. Magnuson & Shaping Twentieth-cent. Amer. xviii. 171 In the wake of Joe McCarthy's censure, charges of left-wingism may have lost their primal appeal.
left-ˈwingish adj. of, relating to, or characteristic of left-wing politics or ideology.
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society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > groups or attitudes right to left > [adjective] > left
left1794
red1848
left wing1873
leftist1895
leftish1899
left-wingish1926
left-wingy1936
lefty1937
left-leaning1938
1926 Aberdeen Press & Jrnl. 17 Sept. 5/2 One danger that beset the I.L.O. was the suspicion in certain quarters that it was too advanced, too left-wingish.
1951 R. Campbell Light on Dark Horse 249 I have never been Left-Wingish.
2004 R. Schweid Che's Chevrolet, Fidel's Oldsmobile ii. 63 The Heraldo was a small, left-wingish newsprint magazine.
left-ˈwingy adj. colloquial = left-wingish adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > groups or attitudes right to left > [adjective] > left
left1794
red1848
left wing1873
leftist1895
leftish1899
left-wingish1926
left-wingy1936
lefty1937
left-leaning1938
1936 Beckley (W. Va.) Post-Herald 19 June 4/4 The Montanan is generally regarded as left-wingy as any member of congress [sic].
1987 Winnipeg Free Press 16 Jan. 21/2 The left-wingy political activist who campaigned for mayor last year.
2007 T. Babiak Bk. Stanley (2008) xvii. 92 Left-wingy retail outlets that sold recycled toilet paper and books about crushing the man.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.a1450