# ambidextrous

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˌæm.biˈdɛk.stɹəs/ · frequency rank #60,618

## Definitions
1. Having equal or comparable ability in both hands; in particular, able to write well with both hands.
2. Equally usable by left-handed and right-handed people (as a tool or instrument).
3. Practising or siding with both parties.
4. Of a person, bisexual.
5. Exceptionally skillful; adept in more than one medium, genre, style, etc.

## Etymology
From Medieval Latin ambidexter + -ous, the former from ambi- (“both”) + dexter (“right”), thus literally “both hands being like a right hand”.
The Latin word is first attested in the Vetus Latina, calquing Ancient Greek ἀμφοτεροδέξιος (amphoterodéxios) in Judges 3:15 after the Septuagint, itself translating Hebrew אִטֵּר יַד יְמִינוֹ (iṭṭēr yaḏ yəmīnō, literally “bound in his right hand”). This phrase is now generally translated as “left-handed”; the Septuagint translation is either from a variant reading or from a different interpretation.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ambidextrous