Find the word definition

Crossword clues for widdershins

widdershins
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
widdershins

1510s, chiefly Scottish, originally "contrary to the course of the sun or a clock" (movement in this direction being considered unlucky), probably from Middle Low German weddersinnes, literally "against the way" (i.e. "in the opposite direction"), from widersinnen "to go against," from wider "against" (see with) + sinnen "to travel, go," from Old High German sinnen, related to sind "journey" (see send).

Wiktionary
widdershins

adv. 1 (context obsolete English) The wrong way. 2 (rft-sense) anticlockwise, counter-clockwise.

Wikipedia
Widdershins

Widdershins (sometimes withershins, widershins or widderschynnes) is a term meaning to go counter-clockwise, to go anti-clockwise, or to go lefthandwise, or to walk around an object by always keeping it on the left. i.e. literally, it means to take a course opposite the apparent motion of the sun viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, (the centre of this imaginary clock is the ground the viewer stands upon). The Oxford English Dictionary's entry cites the earliest uses of the word from 1513, where it was found in the phrase widdersyns start my hair, i.e. my hair stood on end.

The use of the word also means "in a direction opposite to the usual", and in a direction contrary to the apparent course of the sun. It is cognate with the German language widersinnig, i.e., "against" + "sense". The term "widdershins" was especially common in Lowland Scots.

Widdershins (band)
This page is not about the Widdershins Ceilidh Band 1.

Widdershins were an Australian indie pop band, active from 1987 to 1989. After The Lighthouse Keepers disbanded in early 1986, Greg Appel and Juliet Ward went on to form the Rainlovers which became Widdershins in 1987 with the addition of James Cruickshank, Peter Timmerman and Barry Turnbull (ex- John Kennedy's Love Gone Wrong).

Three years of sporadic playing around Australia to a small devoted following and four releases on vinyl earned them the respect of critics throughout the country.

Widdershins called it a day after a final performance on 30 March 1990 at Sydney University. James Cruickshank joined The Cruel Sea, while Greg Appel and his brother Steve gigged occasionally with Ward, Timmerman and others in a loose-knit outfit called Hammerhead, before forming the semi-regular group One Head Jet ca. 1992, playing in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and other towns until about 1997. The fluid lineup included Timmerman, Greg's youngest brother David (vocals, trumpet, percussion) and on occasion, in the latter stages of the band, guitarist Brendan Gallagher of Karma County. After the demise of One Head Jet, Steve Appel formed King Curly.

Widdershins (disambiguation)

Widdershins may refer to:

  • Widdershins, counterclockwise (anticlockwise) when referred to as unlucky
  • Widdershins, 1911 collection of ghost stories by Oliver Onions
  • Widdershins, LLC, a New Jersey event management company
  • Widdershins (novel), 2006 fantasy novel by Charles de Lint
  • Withershins (album), 2010 album by indie pop band Smoosh
  • The Widdershins, an Australian indie pop band
  • Captain Widdershins, a character in A Series of Unfortunate Events (by Lemony Snicket)
  • Widdershins (Comic) , a webcomic by Kate Ashwin
Widdershins (novel)

Widdershins is a 2006 urban fantasy novel by Charles De Lint in the Newford universe. It continues the events of the 2001 novel The Onion Girl, where Jilly was left partially paralyzed and her relationship with Geordie unfulfilled. It also deals with a potential war between fairies and "cousins." Fairies, according to the novel, came to the Americas along with the European explorers. Cousins are the original inhabitants, who can take the form of specific animals depending on their bloodline.

According to De Lint in the introduction, Widdershins is the last novel he will write centering on Jilly Coppercorn, though he subsequently followed up the book with a prequel about Jilly's earlier days, Promises to Keep (2007).

Usage examples of "widdershins".

Torgon himself took up a bowl with a leafy aspergillum and began circling the altar widdershins, sprinkling it and the bull with aspersions of water infused with mistletoe berries.

Mr Widdershins acted for the defendants and Mr Fescue had been instructed by Mr Gibling and Mr Gibling.

It was granted and was spent in exultation by Mr Fescue and Mr Gibling and Lockhart, and in acrimonious arguments by Mr Widdershins and Miss Goldring.

He kept on walking, reversing the spin from sunwise to widdershins by changing hands again behind his back.

The balance was spinning like a whirling dervish, widdershins instead of clockwise, so fast it just became a blur.

He screamed again, yanked at his reins, and his horse went widdershins like a puppy chasing its tail.

Mr Widdershins doubted it but, since he was being paid to conduct the defence, he saw no good reason to deprive himself of the financial remuneration a prolonged case was bound to bring him.

Mr Widdershins, looking for some ray of hope in an otherwise hopeless case.

Below her Mr Widdershins and Mr Shortstead both covered their eyes with their hands.

Each pair circled widdershins around its center without getting closer.

Because his left ferrule was leading, Cashel backpedaled and brought his right arm around widdershins, catching Manza on the left hip and flinging him into Enfero.

He fed the staff around his body sunwise, then widdershins, and when he had it around in front of him again he spun it between his legs and caught it over his head.

Cashel had his staff spinning at a moderate rate, alternating sunwise circles and widdershins to loosen all his muscles against the time he needed their full strength.

Witchland booths and went widdershins round the wrastling ground and so returned silently whence she came.

Witches, and going widdershins round about the wrastling ground returned on silent wing whence she came.