clockwise

[prettygoodword]

clockwise (KLOK-waiz) - adv., & adj., in the same direction as the hands on a clock.


A circlular motion that, when viewed face-on the circle, goes in the direction of top > right > bottom > left sides.


Thanks, WikiMedia!

Contrast with anticlockwise, counterclockwise, and widdershins. Surprisingly, this wasn't coined until the 1880s, though clocks (and this motion) existed for centuries before. The -wise suffix denotes in the way or manner of $stem.

---L.

Comments

[flwyd]

MW and Wiktionary cite deasil as having roots in 1770s Scots Gaelic and meaning clockwise. I'm not sure how extensively it was used in English.

I once heard someone say "We'll move counter-widdershins," which I pointed out meant "countercounterclockwise."

[prettygoodword]

counter-widdershins

LOL!