What does laterality mean?
Laterality is a formal noun meaning the quality of being one-sided or favoring one side. In medicine and psychology, it commonly describes a preference or dominant use of the left or right side of the body, as in research on hand laterality. More broadly, it can refer to asymmetry, such as a tendency for development to occur unevenly, or to a marked preference for one option, group, or viewpoint. The word is more specialized than the everyday expression “one-sidedness,” and its use can carry a clinical or analytical tone. It is useful when discussing body preference, spatial orientation, asymmetry, and unequal treatment or development without simply saying that something is biased.
nounThe quality or condition of being lateral, especially of tending to one side or favoring one side of the body over the other. It can also refer more generally to asymmetry or one-sidedness.
- The quality of being to one side or favoring one side, especially the left or right side of the body.
- A tendency or preference for one side, option, or point of view.
- Asymmetry or one-sided development.
"The study examined laterality, finding that most participants had a clear preference for using one hand."
"Hand laterality is usually established during childhood."
"The report criticized the policy's laterality because it placed the interests of one region above those of others."
The plural is grammatically possible but uncommon in ordinary usage.
"The study compared the lateralities of children with different motor-development patterns."
Laterality is the vocabulary of right- and left-handedness: it names the subtle preference that makes one side of the body dominant.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does laterality come from?
Laterality was formed in English by adding the suffix -ity to lateral, which comes from Latin latus, meaning “side.” The Latin root also underlies bilateral, trilateral, multilateral, and equilateral, words describing structures or arrangements with two, three, many, or equal sides. The English noun laterality developed as a more formal term for the condition of being to one side or favoring one side.
Related word forms
How laterality is actually used
The term is most common in medicine, psychology, biology, and motor-control research. In general discussion, it can sound technical and may suggest a deliberate or structural preference for one side.