from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Left \Left\, a. [OE. left, lift, luft; akin to Fries. leeft, OD.
lucht, luft; cf. AS. left (equiv. to L. inanis), lyft[=a]dl
palsy; or cf. AS. l[=e]f weak.]
1. Of or pertaining to that side of the body in man on which
the muscular action of the limbs is usually weaker than on
the other side; -- opposed to {right}, when used in
reference to a part of the body; as, the left hand, or
arm; the left ear. Also said of the corresponding side of
the lower animals.
[1913 Webster]
2. Situated so that the left side of the body is toward it;
as, the left side of a deliberative meeting is that to the
left of the presiding officer; the left wing of an army is
that to the left of the center to one facing an enemy.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
{Left bank of a river}, that which is on the left hand of a
person whose face is turned downstream.
{Left bower}. See under 2d {Bower}.
{Left center}, the members whose sympathies are, in the main,
with the members of the Left, but who do not favor extreme
courses, and on occasions vote with the government. They
sit between the Center and the extreme Left.
{Over the left shoulder}, or {Over the left}, an old but
still current colloquialism, or slang expression, used as
an aside to indicate insincerity, negation, or disbelief;
as, he said it, and it is true, -- over the left.
[1913 Webster]
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Bower \Bow"er\ (bou"[~e]r), n. [G. bauer a peasant. So called
from the figure sometimes used for the knave in cards. See
{Boor}.]
One of the two highest cards in the pack commonly used in the
game of euchre.
[1913 Webster]
{Right bower}, the knave of the trump suit, the highest card
(except the "Joker") in the game.
{Left bower}, the knave of the other suit of the same color
as the trump, being the next to the right bower in value.
{Best bower} or {Joker}, in some forms of euchre and some
other games, an extra card sometimes added to the pack,
which takes precedence of all others as the highest card.
[1913 Webster]