Dextrorotatory and dextrorotation are terms used in chemistry to describe the direction in which a substance rotates plane-polarized light. When a substance is said to be dextrorotatory, it means that it rotates plane-polarized light to the right or clockwise direction, whereas when it is levorotatory, it rotates plane-polarized light to the left or counterclockwise direction.

The terms "dextrorotatory" and "levorotatory" come from the Latin words "dexter" meaning "right" and "lævus" meaning...