dextral

adjective

dex·​tral ˈdek-strəl 

: of or relating to the right : inclined to the right: such as

a

: right-handed sense 3

b

of a gastropod shell : having the whorls coiling clockwise down the spire when viewed with the apex toward the observer and having the aperture situated on the right of the axis when held with the spire uppermost and with the aperture opening toward the observer compare sinistral

Examples of dextral in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The majority of snails are dextral, but sinistral forms have evolved time and time again. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 7 Dec. 2010

Dextral snails are in the majority, so a dextral snail would have a far larger supply of mates than a sinistral one. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 7 Dec. 2010

There was one exception — when coauthor and citizen scientist Philippe Thomas mated second-generation dextral offspring of French sinistral garden snails. —Kristen Rogers, CNN, 2 June 2020

Six of 32 dextral snails produced 17 sinistral offspring out of 6,302 total offspring. —Kristen Rogers, CNN, 2 June 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

dextral

1 of 2 adjective

dex·​tral ˈdek-strəl 

: of or relating to the right

especially : right-handed

dextrally

-strə-lē 

adverb

dextral

2 of 2 noun

: a person exhibiting dominance of the right hand and eye