Describing two or more objects that rotate in opposite directions, such as two propellers spinning toward each other.
From counter- + rotating (present participle of rotate). Rotate comes from Latin rotare meaning to turn. This adjective became common in engineering terminology, especially for aircraft and helicopters.
Counterrotating propellers on helicopters are genius—they cancel out each other's rotational forces, so the helicopter doesn't spin uncontrollably. Military helicopters have used this principle since the 1940s.
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