I. ˈleft adjective
( sometimes -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English luft, lift, left, from Old English left, lyft- (as in lyftādl palsy) weak; akin to Middle Dutch lucht, luft, loft left, Middle Low German lucht
1.
a. : of or relating to the hand that in most persons is weaker, to the side of the body on which it is, or to the parts of that side of the body
combat men who looked at a man's left chest before they looked at his face — C.H.Norcross
b. : located on an observer's left or directed as his left hand would point
outflanked the army's left wing
the left fork of the road looked the more inviting of the two
2. often capitalized : of, adhering to, or constituted by the left especially in politics
this left government with a cabinet of moderate liberals — F.A.Magruder
the Communists and their political ally, the Left Socialists — C.A.L.Rich
fashionable … among many left intellectuals — Philip O'Connor
the left religious movements … animated by the social gospel — G.A.Almond
untiring representative of the leftest of left-wingers — Glasgow Herald
in some respects they are going still lefter — A.A.Berle
•
- over the left shoulder
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English luft, lift, left, from luft, lift, left, adjective
1.
a. : the left hand
lashed out with his left — Gregor Felsen
b. : the location or direction lying on the left side of one's body
passed a house on his left
c. : the part (as the wing of an army) that is on the left side of an observer facing in the direction it faces
d. : the member of a pair situated or used on the left side
2.
a. : left field
b. : a boxer's blow with the left fist
broke through the American's defense repeatedly with jolts and spearing lefts — P.J.Cunningham
3. often capitalized
a. : the part of a legislative chamber located to the left of the presiding officer and usually occupied in continental European and other countries having a similar political pattern by members professing a more radical position on political issues than other members
loud applause in the center and on certain benches of the left — D.W.S.Lidderdale
in the other European countries … the left is occupied by the Communists and Socialists — Enzo Di Cocco
— compare center 3c, right
b. : the members of a legislative body occupying the left as a result of their political views
members of the Chamber of Deputies … became tense; the Left became vociferous — A.W.Macmahon & W.R.Dittmar
4. usually capitalized
a. : individuals or groups professing views usually characterized by opposition to and a desire to alter (as by reform or revolution) the established order especially in politics and usually advocating change in the name of the greater freedom or well-being of the common man
the tradition of liberalism, democracy, and socialism belongs to the democratic Left — Simon Paynter
the totalitarianism of the Left — Howard Rushmore
his position in the literary Left — Paul Potts
his contempt for the Right is exceeded only by his contempt for the Left — Bergen Evans
— compare right
b. : the symbolic position occupied by persons professing such views : a radical as distinguished from a conservative position
the clericalist threat from the Right drove the earlier governments of the Third Republic … further to the radical Left — Times Literary Supplement
after an interval of twenty or thirty years the Left of one period becomes the Right of the next — Barbara & Robert North
III. adverb
Etymology: Middle English luft, lift, left, from luft, lift, left, adjective
: on or to the left
questing neither left nor right — Rudyard Kipling
as right-center governments continued to ignore reform, the people moved left — New Republic
IV.
past of leave