widdershins

adverb

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wid·der·shins | \ ˈwi-dər-shənz

variants: or less commonly withershins \ ˈwi-t͟hər-shənz

Definition of widdershins

: in a left-handed, wrong, or contrary direction : counterclockwise — compare deasil

Did you know?

English speakers today are most likely to encounter widdershins as a synonym of counterclockwise. But in earliest known uses, found in texts from the early 1500s, widdershins was used more broadly in the sense of "in the wrong way or opposite direction." To say that one's hair "stood widdershins" was, in essence, to say that one was having a bad hair day. By the mid-1500s, English speakers had adopted widdershins to specifically describe movement opposite to the apparent clockwise direction (as seen from the northern hemisphere) of the sun traveling across the sky, which, at the time, could be considered evil or unlucky. The word originates from the Old High German widar, meaning "back" or "against," and sinnen, meaning "to travel."