Both Uses of
sinister
in
Moby Dick
- I looked through the key-hole; but the door opening into an odd corner of the room, the key-hole prospect was but a crooked and sinister one.
Chpt 16-18 *sinister = evil, harmful, or frightening
- But it is only found on the sinister side, which has an ill effect, giving its owner something analogous to the aspect of a clumsy left-handed man.
Chpt 31-33
Definitions:
-
(1)
(sinister) evil or harmful; or making an evil or frightening impression
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely and only in very old usage, sinister can refer to the left side of something.