widdershins

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widdershins

/ˈwɪ.də.ʃɪnz/ UK
/ˈwɪ.dɚ.ʃɪnz/ US

Where it comes from

First use appears c. 1513, from Middle Low German weddersins (also wēder-, -sinnes), from wed(d)der- (“wither-, against, opposite”) + genitive of sin (“direction, way”).

adverb withershins · widdersins · withersins · widishins

archaic, not comparable Anticlockwise, counter-clockwise. It is unlucky to walk widdershins around a church.
Opposite: clockwise, sunwise, deasil
Scotland, not comparable The wrong way.

Translations

Every language

adv anticlockwise, counter-clockwise

Deutsch	gegen den Uhrzeigersinn
Русский	против часово́й стрелки protiv časovój strelki, противосолонь protivosolonʹ

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MLA

"widdershins." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/widdershins. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

widdershins. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/widdershins

Chicago

"widdershins." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/widdershins.

BibTeX

@misc{widdershins_2026,
  title = {widdershins},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/widdershins},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}