ambidextrous

Meaning

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. (archaic) Practising or siding with both parties.
4. (humorous) Of a person, bisexual.
5. Exceptionally skillful; adept in more than one medium, genre, style, etc.

Synonyms

two-handed

double-dealing

double-faced

two-faced

duplicitous

Janus-faced

deceitful

double-tongued

crafty

artful

ambidexter

equipoised

deep

Translations

ambidextro

ambidextre

ambidestro

ambidestro

αμφιδέξιος

ambidiestro

beidhändig

ambidextre

چهپ وڕاسته

Beidhänder

ambidexter

ungewöhnlich geschickt

أضبط

doppelzüngig

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˌæm.biˈdɛk.stɹəs/

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.