Why “left” in Spanish is a Basque word

Latin had its word: «sinistra». But in Roman superstition the left side was the side of ill omens, and «sinister» grew so loaded with darkness that it became useless for something as neutral as a hand.

The solution? Borrow a clean word from a neighbour who didn't even speak a Romance language. From the Basque «ezkerra» came the Spanish «izquierda», the Catalan «esquerra» and the Portuguese «esquerda». Three daughters of Latin voted as a bloc for a Basque loanword.

«Sinistra» never disappeared, though: it survives in the Spanish «siniestro» — and in the English «sinister» — meaning wicked or ominous; on Spanish insurance forms, an accident is still a «siniestro». The old word was left carrying all the bad luck.

Sometimes a language doesn't evolve. It simply shakes off a curse.