Word of the day: Widdershins

Widdershins means moving in the opposite direction of the usual way, specifically counterclockwise, or against the direction a clock’s hands move. In everyday language, if something goes widdershins, it’s simply going “the other way around.”

This is a less common word in modern English. You probably won’t hear it in casual conversation, but it still appears in fantasy novels, historical fiction, and writing about folklore or old traditions.

Widdershins is most often used to describe circular motion in a counterclockwise direction. It can also suggest going against custom, tradition, or what’s considered normal.


The word often carries a slightly negative or ominous tone, especially in older European folklore, where moving widdershins around a church or sacred object was believed to bring bad luck or misfortune.

It is primarily an adverb (eg, “They walked widdershins”), though it can sometimes function as an adjective.

Widdershins comes from the Middle Low German word weddersinnes, meaning “the opposite way.” It entered English through Scottish dialect in the 16th century and was commonly used in older British and Scottish traditions.

Example sentences:

• The children ran widdershins around the playground, laughing as they broke the usual pattern.
  
• In the ancient tale, the villagers circled the standing stones widdershins at midnight, believing the reversed movement would summon forces that defied the natural order of the world.
  

Today, widdershins appears mostly in literature, especially fantasy and folklore-inspired writing. Authors use it to create a sense of age, ritual, or mystery.

In short, widdershins is an uncommon but vivid word meaning “counterclockwise” or “in the opposite direction.” Though rarely used in everyday speech, it adds a distinctive, old-world flavor to storytelling and descriptive writing.