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Handedness

[han-did-nis]

noun

a tendency to use one hand more than the other.

Origin:
1920–25; handed + -ness

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Handedness is always a great word to know.

So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

handedness (ˈhændɪdnɪs)

—n
1.	the tendency to use one hand more skilfully or in preference to the other
2.	dextrorotation See also laevorotation the property of some chemical substances of rotating the plane of polarized light in one direction rather than another
3.	See also helicity the relation between the vectors of spin and momentum of neutrinos and certain other elementary particles

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

handedness hand·ed·ness (hān'dĭd-nĭs)
n.

A preference for using one hand as opposed to the other.
The chirality of a molecule.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage

Science Dictionary

handedness

(hān'dĭd-nĭs) Pronunciation Key

A preference for using one hand rather than the other to perform most manual tasks and activities. Most people are right-handed. Historically, it has been theorized that handedness is associated with a dominance of the opposite cerebral hemisphere of the brain, but this has not been conclusively proven. Although the scientific basis for handedness is unknown, the fact that left-handed parents more frequently have left-handed offspring suggests at least a partial genetic component. Some experts believe that children are trained to favor one hand over the other (usually the right hand.). Handedness is usually established in the first few years of life.
See chirality.

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"Their manners, speech, dress, friendships,—the freshness and candor of their physiognomy—the picturesque looseness of their carriage—their deathless attachment to freedom—their aversion to anything indecorous or soft or mean—the practical acknowledgment of the citizens of one state by the citizens of all other states—the fierceness of their roused resentment—their curiosity and welcome of novelty—their self-esteem and wonderful sympathy—their susceptibility to a slight—the air they have of persons who never knew how it felt to stand in the presence of superiors—the fluency of their speech—their delight in music, a sure symptom of manly tenderness and native elegance of soul—their good temper and open-handedness—the terrible significance of their elections, the President's taking off his hat to them, not they to him—these too are unrhymed poetry. It awaits the gigantic and generous treatment worthy of it."

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