Pronounced: SKAFF-law, noun
Notes: An interesting word — you may know the meaning
Yesterday’s word
The word widdershins means a counterclockwise (anticlockwise in the UK), left-handed, or wrong direction. It is also spelled withershins, which seems to be the original version.
First usage
The word goes back to the early 1500s
Background / Comments
The word comes from Old High Gernam widar (back, against) with sin (direction). I’ve read the word in one or more of the Lord Peter Wimsey stories by Dorothy Sayers. In at least one story, it is mentioned that it is considered unlucky to go around a church widdershins. Apparently, the old tradition was that is was bad luck to go around a person or any building widdershins; however, going around a church widdershins was especially unlucky. Apparently, this superstition is not very widely held these days.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 