横よこ様ざま

よ

こ

ざ

ま

Meanings

Describes a direction or orientation to the side; often used in literary or formal contexts. The 'wickedness' and 'unreasonable' glosses are rare and archaic; they are not the primary modern meaning.

風かぜで木きが横よこ様ざまに倒たおれた。
The tree fell sideways due to the wind.
彼かれは横よこ様ざまに一いち瞥べつをくれた。
He gave a sideways glance.

Kanji

横sideways, side, horizontal
様Esq., way, manner

Related words

横よこ
横 is the common word for 'side' or 'horizontal'; 横様 is a more literary or formal variant with a similar meaning.
横よこ向むき
横向き means 'sideways orientation' and is more common in everyday speech than 横様.

Built from

横よこ+様さま

Written forms

横様Usage8%
- よこざま
  Standard kanji form for the reading よこざま.
- よこさま
横よこざまUsage92%
search-only kanji form
Search-only kanji form; not a standard spelling.
よこさま

Etymology

Compound of 横 (yoko, 'side') and 様 (sama, 'state' or 'appearance'), with rendaku voicing to ざま. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has been used since classical Japanese.