Word of the Day

: February 18, 2016

deasil

adv DEE-zil

What It Means

: clockwise

deasil in Context

The worshippers dance around the fire deasil, or sunwise.

"Three times we walked deasil around our central candle. By the third cycle I felt power flowing from Sky's fingers to mine, from my fingers to Alyce's." — Cate Tiernan, Spellbound, 2001

Did You Know?

According to an old custom, you can bring someone good fortune by walking around the person clockwise three times while carrying a torch or candle. In Scottish Gaelic, the word deiseil is used for the direction one walks in such a luck-bringing ritual. English speakers modified the spelling to deasil, and have used the word to describe clockwise motion in a variety of rituals.