Book frontispiece Book frontispiece A frontispiece in books is a decorative or informative illustration facing a book's title page—on the left-hand, or verso, page opposite the right-hand, or recto, page. While some books depict thematic elements, other books feature the author's portrait as the frontispiece. In medieval illuminated manuscripts, a presentation miniature showing the book or text being presented (by whom and to whom varies) was often used as a frontispiece. The word comes from the French "frontispice", or the late Latin "frontispicium", from the Latin "frons" ('forehead') and "specere" ('to look at'). It was synonymous with 'metoposcopy'. In English, it was
Bias against left-handed people Roman toga had only one pocket, located on the left side. The right hand has historically been associated with skill: the Latin word for right-handed is "dexter", as in "dexterity", meaning manual skill. Even the word "ambidexterity" reflects the bias. Its intended meaning is "skillful on both sides". However, since it keeps the Latin root "dexter", which means "right", it ends up conveying the idea of being "right-handed on both sides". This bias is also apparent in the lesser-known antonym "ambisinistrous", which means "left-handed ["i.e.", clumsy] on both sides". In more technical contexts, "sinistral" may be used in place of