dexter

Latin adjective

Last edited: 2024-04-29
Primary meaning right
Literal translation right
Variants
dexter
Edited by
right adjective, expression of relative position

of aspects

Scire etiam debemus quod sit dextrum trigonum, quod sinistrum. Dextrum trigonum est quod ab eo signo, a quo incipimus, retro est, sinistrum vero, quod abante; utputa Arietis dextrum trigonum est Sagittarius, sinistrum vero Leo

‘We must know too which is a right and which is a left trine. The right trine is that which is back of the sign from which we begin, the left trine is the one ahead. So, for instance, the right trine of Aries is Sagittarius, the left is Leo’

— Firmicus Maternus, Mathesis 2.22.4

Genre: astrological compendium
Provenance: Sicily
Date: ca. 334 CE

Firmicus Maternus. 1897. Ivlii Firmici Materni Matheseos Libri VIII, ed. W. Kroll, F. Skutsch. Stuttgart: B. G. Teubner. 1.69

Libram Capricornus et illum conspicit ante Aries atque ipsum a partibus aequis Cancer et hunc laeva subeuntis sidera Librae. semper enim in dextris censentur signa priora.

‘Capricorn views Libra, whilst the Ram sees Capricorn ahead and is in turn beheld at an equal distance by the Crab; and the Crab is perceived by Libra’s stars as it follows on the left: for preceding signs are reckoned as right signs.’

— Manilius, Astronomica 2.290 ff

Genre: astrological treatise

Manilius. Astronomica. Edited and translated by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library 469. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977. 104-105

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). dexter (Lemma #1019). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1019/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). dexter (Lemma #1019). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1019/
MLA (9th)
Meinhardt, K. (2024). dexter (Lemma #1019). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1019/
Harvard
Meinhardt, K. (2024) dexter (Lemma #1019), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1019/ (Accessed: February 2, 2026).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac1019,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-02-02]},
	author = {Meinhardt, Kierán},
	year = {2024},
	title = {dexter ({Lemma} #1019)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1019/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1019/},
}