Handedness
ˈhandɪdnəs
A property of a coordinate system, describing the orientation of perpendicular axes.
Rhinoceros uses right-handed planes and transformation matrices, meaning that if the X-axis points to the right and the Y-axis points away, then the Z-axis points up.
In a left-handed system the X-axis would need to point to the left for the Z-axis to remain upright.