Where did the word counterclockwise and or clockwise come from?

Answer 1

"Clockwise" is the direction that the hands of a common analog clock move; from left to right at the top of the circle, and right-to-left at the bottom of the circle. "Counter-clockwise" is the opposite, of course.

Before the invention of mechanical clocks about a thousand years ago, the corresponding terms were "sunward" and "widdershins". "Sunward" makes sense if you're in the northern hemisphere temperate zones; the Sun will appear to move across the sky left to right as the day progresses. (The Sun appears to move in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere, and in the tropics it varies by date.)

Answer 2

The terms counterclockwise and clockwise originated from the direction of movement of clock hands. Clockwise refers to the same direction as the movement of clock hands, while counterclockwise refers to the opposite direction. These terms have been used since the introduction of mechanical clocks in the 14th century.