2131: 'Dexter' in Heraldry Means on the Left... Oct 14, 2020

In heraldry, such as coats of arms, the term 'dexter' means refers to when an animal faces the left. In general, the word 'dexter' and all its derivatives like 'dexterity' in some sense or another have the meaning of 'on the right'. Indeed, across other languages as well as across the various meaning of 'right'—the actual direction, laws, morality—the word retains the meaning and connotation. In the case of heraldry, this is in reference to the bearers perspective rather than the depiction, similar to how people refer to 'stage right'.

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