Where does “anticlockwise” come from?
Anticlockwise comes from English clock and Ancient Greek ἀντί meaning "against," tracing back through Proto-Indo-European h₂énti and the root h₂ent-.
anticlockwise (English): in a circular fashion so as to be moving to the...
Definitions
- in a circular fashion so as to be moving to the...
Ancestry of “anticlockwise”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | clockwise | In a curve or twist corresponding to the movement... |
| 2 | English | clock | An instrument used to measure or keep track of... |
| 3 | Middle English | clokke | clock, timekeeping device |
| 4 | Middle Dutch | clocke | bell; something bell-shaped |
| 5 | Old Dutch | *clocca | bell |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *klokkā | bell |
| 7 | Medieval Latin | clocca | bell; travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so... |
| 8 | Old Irish | cloc | bell; clock |
| 9 | Proto-Celtic | klokkos | bell |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | klēg- | — |