Moving in the opposite direction from the way clock hands move; to the left.
Compound of 'counter-' (from Latin 'contra' meaning 'against') and 'clockwise' (which itself emerged in the 17th century as mechanical clocks became common). This term became standardized in the 19th century.
Counterclockwise motion is the opposite of how we naturally see things spin because humans in the Northern Hemisphere created clocks to follow the sun's shadow path—if we'd invented clocks in the Southern Hemisphere, 'clockwise' would mean the opposite direction!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.