How did the phrases' left wing 'and 'right wing' come about?

Question

When these expressions (right wing and left wing) first evolved was there some kind of bird involved or did it refer to the building "wings" of the Capitol ?

Answer 1

The term originates from the French Revolution, when liberal deputies from the Third Estate generally sat to the left of the president's chair, a habit which began in the Estates General of 1789. The nobility, members of the Second Estate, generally sat to the right. It is still the tradition in the French Assemblée Nationale for the representatives to be seated left-to-right (relative to the Assemblée president) according to their political alignment.

Answer 2

To answer this question, we turned to several handy sites that explore the origins of words. Regular readers of Ask Yahoo! might recognize these sites because we've consulted them for many etymological questions.
Word Origins tells us the terms date back to pre-revolutionary France. In 1789, the French National Assembly was created as a parliamentary body to move control of issues, such as taxation, from the king to the citizenry.

Inside the chamber where the National Assembly met, members of the Third Estate sat on the left side and members of the First Estate sat on the right. The Third Estate consisted of revolutionaries, while the First Estate were nobles. Thus, the left wing of the room was more liberal, and the right wing was more conservative. In the next few years, the revolutionaries would take over and countless noble heads would roll, but that's another story.

Word Detective corroborates the idea that "left wing" and "right wing" date to the seating arrangements of the 1789 French National Assembly. The Mavens' Word of the Day also confirms the phrases' origin.

Word Wizard agrees on the origins of the terms and adds that they have a secondary layer of meanings. "Right" can also mean "correct," while the Latin term for "left" suggests "sinister" behavior. We suspect that those on the political right wing appreciate these connotations more than those on the left.

Answer 3

I think wing as used in right and left wing originally referred to the wing of a legislative building.

Answer 4

From the French Senat (that's how they spell it). The Liberals sat on the left side, and the conservatives on the right.

Answer 5

It has to do with the side of the aisle they set on in the congress. Going in to the congess, the democrats have historically set on the lefthand side of the main aisle and the republicans have set on the righthand side of the aisle. They are call wings, sort of like a part of the building.

Answer 6

those are old yet only recently popular terms

Answer 7

oh man, IT'S only a figure of speech!!!!! DON't get serious about it!!!!!!