dexter

1. not comparablearchaic outside heraldryRight; on the right-hand side. (In heraldry, specifically the bearer's right, which is the viewer's left.)

   […] the dexter lion being gorged […]

   1998 July 6, Auguste Vachon, Claire Boudreau, Daniel Cogné, Genealogica & Heraldica: Ottawa 1996, University of Ottawa Press, →ISBN, page 324

   4 more examples

   my Mothers bloud / Runs on the dexter checke, and this ſiniſter / Bounds in my fathers:

   c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v], column 2

   Displaying his dexter palm, he exclaimed that there was a hand that never took a bribe; whereupon a smart auditor cried "How about the one behind your back?"

   1887, George William Foote with J. M. Wheeler, Crimes of Christianity, London: Progressive Publishing

   Clovis wiped the trace of Turkish coffee and the beginnings of a smile from his lips, and slowly lowered his dexter eyelid.

   1911, Saki, ‘The Match-Maker’, The Chronicles of Clovis

   The shield was divided into five, with two coats of arms on the dexter side (the right-hand side from the point of view of the bearer of the shield)—London and Southampton—and three on the sinister side—Salisbury, Winchester and Portsmouth.

   1956 July, Col. H. C. B. Rogers, “Railway Heraldry”, in Railway Magazine, page 477

   Antonyms: sinister

plural dexters

1. archaic outside heraldryThe right side (of a building, an equation, a heraldic shield [from the wearer's perspective], etc).

   On the dexter of the court is a long hall with an arched ceiling and a door, leading to a small oblong shrine with a vaulted ceiling.

   1971, Debala Mitra, Buddhist Monuments

   1 more example

   Subtracting the second from the first, the third from the second and the first from the third successively, we obtain, after transposition, the following identities: — [several equations] But, the sinisters being exact differentials, the dexters are so. Consequently [...]

   1879, London Mathematical Society, Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, page 112

alternative Dyster

1. A surname originating as an occupation for a female dyer.

   1 more example

   State and local leaders, including US Sen. Jeff Merkley, Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, US Rep. Maxine Dexter and City Council members, urged the community to stay peaceful at a news conference on Friday night, according to CNN affiliate KPTV, after the city saw an increase in activity by federal agents.

   2025 September 27, Kit Maher, “Trump says he’s sending troops to Portland to protect ICE facilities”, in CNN

2. Any of a number of places in the United States and Canada, named for persons with the surname.
   1. A town and census-designated place therein, in Penobscot County, Maine, United States.
   2. A town in Chaves County, New Mexico, United States.
   3. A village in the town of Brownville, Jefferson County, New York, United States, named after Simon Newton Dexter.
   4. A census-designated place in Lane County, Oregon, United States.
3. A male given name transferred from the surname.

   I was in Atlanta with our three children — our second son, Dexter, named for our beloved church in Montgomery, had been born in January, and was still an infant.

   1969, Coretta Scott King, My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, pages 204–205

plural Dexters · alternative Dyster

1. One of a breed of small hardy cattle originating from the Kerry breed of Ireland, valuable for beef and milk. They are usually chiefly black, sometimes red, and somewhat resemble a small shorthorn in build.
2. A serial killer who only commits crimes against worthy targets.

   one officer killing 26 dogs is fucking wild. thats like, every couple months you just pop one in the head. That cop is the Dexter of dog parks. acab

   2024 September 6, Fuzzy_Proposal4417, “I don’t know if this is really funny or really sad”, in reddit.com, archived from the original on 18 Aug 2026

   2 more examples

   Pedro Rodrigues Filho may as well be called the ‘’Dexter of Brazil’’ because he was a vigilante, only targeting criminals and avenging those who hurt him and people he loved.

   2020 April 14, bosniangirl, reddit.com, archived from the original on 18 Aug 2026

   He's the Dexter of narcissistic TV fame hounds. "Given that I have this insatiable need to become famous on TV, at least I can do it by taking out the worst people."

   2026 August 11, deebee1020, “There's been a lot of discourse online about the upcoming Primetime movie and the history and effectiveness of To Catch a Predator. Is Chris Hansen a bastard?”, in reddit.com, archived from the original on 18 Aug 2026