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

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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.

Name That Antonym

Fill in the blanks to create an antonym of deasil: w _ d _ e _ s _ in _.

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