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ambidextrous: ambidextrous: [16] Ambidextrous means literally ‘right-handed on both sides’. It was formed in Latin from the prefix ambi- ‘both’ and the adjective dexter ‘right-handed’ (source of English dextrous). Ambi- corresponds to the Latin adjective ambo ‘both’, which derived ultimately from the Indo-European base *amb- ‘around’ (an element in the source of ambassador and embassy).

The second element in Latin ambo seems to correspond to Old English ba ‘both’, which is related to modern English both. Other English words formed with the prefix amb(i)- include ambient [16] (which came, like ambition, from Latin ambīre ‘go round’), ambit [16] (from Latin ambitus ‘circuit’), ambiguous, ambition, amble, and ambulance.
=> dextrous
ambiguous: ambiguous: [16] Ambiguous carries the etymological notion of ‘wandering around uncertainly’. It comes ultimately from the Latin compound verb ambigere, which was formed from the prefix ambi- (as in AMBIDEXTROUS) and the verb agere ‘drive, lead’ (a prodigious source of English words, including act and agent). From the verb was derived the adjective ambiguus, which was borrowed directly into English. The first to use it seems to have been Sir Thomas More: ‘if it were now doubtful and ambiguous whether the church of Christ were in the right rule of doctrine or not’ A dialogue concerning heresies 1528.
=> act, agent
ambition: ambition: [14] Like ambient, ambition comes ultimately from the Latin compound verb ambīre ‘go round’ (formed from the prefix ambi-, as in AMBIDEXTROUS, and the verb īre ‘go’, which also gave English exit, initial, and itinerant). But while ambient, a 16th-century acquisition, remains fairly faithful to the literal meaning of the verb, ambition depends on a more metaphorical use.

It seems that the verb’s nominal derivative, ambitiō, developed connotations of ‘going around soliciting votes’ – ‘canvassing’, in fact – and hence, figuratively, of ‘seeking favour or honour’. When the word was first borrowed into English, via Old French ambition, it had distinctly negative associations of ‘greed for success’ (Reginald Pecock writes of ‘Vices [such] as pride, ambition, vainglory’, The repressor of overmuch blaming of the clergy 1449), but by the 18th century it was a more respectable emotion.
=> exit, initial, itinerant
cambium: cambium: see change
gambit: gambit: [17] Like gambol [16], gambit originated in an Italian noun meaning literally ‘tripping up’. The Italian for ‘leg’ is gamba (a relative of English gammon ‘bacon’). From it were derived gambetto and gambata, both of which signified ‘trip-up’. The former was borrowed into Spanish as gambito, where its underlying notion of ‘underhanded procedure’ was first applied specifically to a chess manoeuvre in the mid- 16th century.

It passed into English mainly via French gambit. More frivolous, light-hearted aspects of ‘tripping’ are preserved in gambata, which English originally took over via French as gambade and gradually transformed into gambol.
=> gambol, gammon
ambi-: word-forming element meaning "both, on both sides," from Latin ambi- "around, round about," from PIE *ambhi "around" (cognates: Greek amphi "round about;" Sanskrit abhitah "on both sides," abhi "toward, to;" Avestan aibi; Old English ymbe, German um; Gaulish ambi-, Old Irish imb- "round about, about;" Old Church Slavonic oba; Lithuanian abu "both"). The PIE root probably is an ablative plural of *ant-bhi "from both sides," from *ant- "front, forehead" (see ante).
ambiance (n.): 1923, a reborrowing of the French form of ambience, used in art writing as a term meaning "atmospheric effect of an arrangement" (see ambient).
ambidexterity (n.): 1650s, from obsolete adjective ambidexter "two-sided, using both hands with equal facility," also "double-dealing," from Medieval Latin ambidexter (see ambidextrous) + -ity.
ambidextrous (adj.): 1640s, with -ous, from ambidexter (adj.) "double-dealing" (1610s), from French ambidextre or directly from Latin ambidexter, literally "right-handed on both sides," from ambi- "both" (see ambi-) + dexter "right-handed" (see dexterity). Its opposite, ambilevous "left-handed on both sides, clumsy" (1640s) is rare. Ambidexter as a noun, "one who takes bribes from both sides," is attested from 1530s and is the earliest form of the word in English; its sense of "one who uses both hands equally well" appears by 1590s.
Ambien: trade name for prescription medication Zolpidem, registered 1993 in U.S., no doubt suggested by ambient or words like it in French.
ambience (n.): 1797, from French ambiance (see ambient). Compare ambiance.
ambient (adj.): 1590s, "surrounding, encircling," from Latin ambientem (nominative ambiens) "going round," present participle of ambire "to go around," from amb- "around" (see ambi-) + ire "go" (see ion). The ground sense of "revolving" led to "encircling, lying all around."
ambiguity (n.): c. 1400, "uncertainty, doubt, indecision, hesitation," also from Medieval Latin ambiguitatem (nominative ambiguitas) "double meaning, equivocalness, double sense," noun of state from ambiguus (see ambiguous).
ambiguous (adj.): 1520s, from Latin ambiguus "having double meaning, shifting, changeable, doubtful," adjective derived from ambigere "to dispute about," literally "to wander," from ambi- "about" (see ambi-) + agere "drive, lead, act" (see act). Sir Thomas More (1528) seems to have first used it in English, but ambiguity dates back to c. 1400. Related: Ambiguously; ambiguousness.
ambisexual (adj.): "unisex" (of clothing), also "bisexual," 1912 in the jargon of psychology, from ambi- + sexual. As a humorous coinage based on ambidextrous, ambisextrous is recorded from 1929.
ambisexuality (n.): 1916, from ambisexual + -ity.
ambit (n.): late 14c., "space surrounding a building or town; precinct;" 1590s, "a circuit," from Latin ambitus "a going round," past participle of ambire "to go round, to go about" (see ambient).
ambition (n.): mid-14c., from Middle French ambition or directly from Latin ambitionem (nominative ambitio) "a going around," especially to solicit votes, hence "a striving for favor, courting, flattery; a desire for honor, thirst for popularity," noun of action from past participle stem of ambire "to go around" (see ambient).

Rarely used in the literal sense in English, where it carries the secondary Latin sense of "eager or inordinate desire of honor or preferment." In early use always pejorative, of inordinate or overreaching desire; ambition was grouped with pride and vainglory.
ambitious (adj.): late 14c., from Latin ambitiosus "going around to canvass for office," from ambitio (see ambition). Related: Ambitiously.
ambivalence (n.): "simultaneous conflicting feelings," 1924 (1912 as ambivalency), from German Ambivalenz, coined 1910 by Swiss psychologist Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939) on model of German Equivalenz "equivalence," etc., from Latin ambi- "both" (see ambi-) + valentia "strength," from present participle of valere "be strong" (see valiant). A psychological term that by 1929 had taken on a broader literary and general sense.
ambivalent (adj.): 1916, originally a term in psychology; back-formation from ambivalence. In general use by 1929.
ambivert (n.): "person exhibiting features of an extrovert and an introvert," coined by Kimball Young in "Source Book for Social Psychology" (1927), from ambi- "about, around" + Latin vertere, as in introvert. Related: Ambiversion.
bambino (n.): "little child," 1761, from Italian bambino, "baby," a diminutive of bambo "simple" (compare Latin bambalio "dolt," Greek bambainein "to stammer"). In U.S. baseball lore, a nickname of George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (1895-1948).
cambium (n.): 1670s in botany sense, from Late Latin cambium "exchange," from Latin cambiare "change" (see change (v.)).
circumambient (adj.): 1630s, from circum- + ambient.
disambiguate (v.): 1963, back-formation from disambiguation. Related: Disambiguated; disambiguating.
disambiguation (n.): 1827; see dis- + ambiguous + -ation.
Gambia: West African nation, named for the river through it, which was so called by 14c. Portuguese explorers, said to be a corruption of a native name, Ba-Dimma, meaning "the river." Related: Gambian.
gambit (n.): "chess opening in which a pawn or piece is risked for advantage later," 1650s, gambett, from Italian gambetto, literally "a tripping up" (as a trick in wrestling), from gamba "leg," from Late Latin gamba (see gambol (n.)). Applied to chess openings in Spanish in 1561 by Ruy Lopez, who traced it to the Italian word, but the form in Spanish generally was gambito, which led to French gambit, which has influenced the English spelling of the word. Broader sense of "opening move meant to gain advantage" in English is recorded from 1855.
iambic: 1570s (n.); 1580s (adj.), from Latin iambicus, from Greek iambikos, from iambos "metrical foot of one unaccented followed by one accented syllable," from iaptein "to assail" (in words), literally "to put forth." The meter of invective and lampoon in classical Greek from the time it was used for such by Archilochos, 7c. B.C.E.
lambic (n.): "strong Belgian beer," 1829, related to French alambic "a still" (see alembic).
unambiguous (adj.): 1630s, from un- (1) "not" + ambiguous. Related: Unambiguously; unambiguousness.