Amaaaaaazing Etymologies....

Friends, it's now time for the next installment of our ongoing series: Amaaaazing Etymologies where we explore the weird and wacky origins of our crazy language.

Today's word is SINISTER, which has it's root in sinistre, which means "left." Even today the word for "left" is sinistra in Italian. While the word itself comes from Latin, the concept is Greek. When Greek augurers looked for signs, those that were to their left were considered inauspicious, or sinister. One of the more common signs used to divine the future was birds. So the next time, you see a bird to your left, it may portend something sinister....