Why this word is great
COUNTERSEA — [Noun] A sea running in an opposite direction from the wind. From counter- ("opposite") + sea ("body of water"). Unlike "cross sea" (where waves collide at oblique angles in uneasy truce) or "tide" (which submits to the moon’s distant pull), a countersea is the water’s deliberate contradiction—a refusal to comply. It is the hiss of waves sliding backward against a gale, the eerie sight of foam-laced crests fleeing the storm that birthed them, or the sailor’s unease as his vessel bucks against two masters. The ocean, too, knows rebellion.