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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Gargchirality
PRONUNCIATION:
(ky-RAL-i-tee) 
MEANING:
noun: The property of not being superimposable on its mirror image: dissymmetry.
ETYMOLOGY:
Coined by physicist, engineer, and mathematician William Thomson, Baron Kelvin, also known as Lord Kelvin (1824-1907). From Greek cheir (hand). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ghes- (hand), which also gave us cheiromancy/chiromancy (palmistry), surgeon (literally, one who works with hands), and enchiridion (handbook). Earliest documented use: 1894.
USAGE:
“Hands, feet, and shoes, [Richard Dawkins] explains, have chirality, i.e., ‘there’s a left one and a right one and you can’t rotate either to make the other’. Socks, on the other hand, are interchangeable. So, he suggests, embrace the diversity and wear your odd socks with pride.”
Rose Wild; The Science Professor Needs to Put a Sock in It; The Times; (London, UK); May 28, 2016.
Rose Wild; The Science Professor Needs to Put a Sock in It; The Times; (London, UK); May 28, 2016.
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