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I've seen "turn thrice widdershins" (or variations thereof, such as "turn around thrice widdershins") several times online (1, 2, 3). It seems to be Gaelic in origin, having to do with fairies or witchcraft, but I can't find any concrete information about where this phrase actually came from or how it's significant.

Any idea as to the origins of this?

bwDraco
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  • http://www.subzin.com/quotes/S57414e1f5/Neverwhere/Door/Then+turn+around+thrice%2C+widdershins http://www.goreading.net/Neverwhere/13.html – Bob Mar 19 '17 at 01:47
  • I'm getting the impression this traces farther back than this book... – bwDraco Mar 19 '17 at 01:47
  • https://www.paganspath.com/magik/widdershins.htm "Celtic Pagans would walk three times around someone they wished to give a blessing to in a clockwise motion." – Bob Mar 19 '17 at 01:48
  • I looked at that, too, but I can't seem to find an exact origin of this very phrase. Also, "widdershins" is counterclockwise. – bwDraco Mar 19 '17 at 01:49
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    [James Og] is indyttit, that in the year forsaid or thairabout, haiving corne to drey, to have borrrouit fyr from hs nychtbour, haiffing of his avine than presently, and to haue taine ane birne of the corne on his bak, and careit it *thrie tymmis woodersonis* aboue the kill. [my emphasis] —‘Notes by Mr. John Ros, minister at Lumphanan, regarding certain persons accusit of witchcraft.’ Printed in The Miscellany of the Spalding Club, I.XLIX. , 1841, p. 189 under the date 1597. OED 1 gives earlier citations for 'widdershins' involving 'turning' nine times. . . . – StoneyB on hiatus Mar 19 '17 at 02:10
  • @StoneyB: Hmm. That's interesting. You might want to expand this into an answer. – bwDraco Mar 19 '17 at 02:11
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    But I doubt you're going to find the "origin" of the phrase, which might have occurred at any time after the practice started, and is unlikely to have been recorded. And the origin of the practice is off-topic here. – StoneyB on hiatus Mar 19 '17 at 02:14
  • @Andrew: I'm not sure this is in fact a duplicate. The question is the origin of the phrase itself, not the word "widdershins". – bwDraco Mar 19 '17 at 13:51
  • So you're asking what the historical significance of three times is and how that started? That doesn't seem to have much to do with the nuts and bolts of English. – Andrew Leach Mar 19 '17 at 14:01

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