The prefix
anti- is used in English language to denote mainly two things :
1. Against, opposed to, preventing or relieving
2. Being in a state spatially opposite to another.
Its use in the case of the "Eskimo" bowlines was advocated by dan Lehman, who considered this characteristic as a very important quality of the "Eskimo" bowline, and its derivatives. It is true that we should distinguish between the "Common" bowlines, where the bight component collars the Standing end, and the "Eskimo" bowlines, where the bight component collars the eye leg of the Standing Part s side. Also, it is true that the side through which the eye leg of the Tail side enters into the nipping turn is very important. However, this distinction should be
neutral, without any connotation that there is a confrontation between those two forms of the bowline. Just because I happen to live in a country where the prefic anti- in the words is used for many years, and many times each day

, I felt that the ambiguity would have to be pointed out. I had also proposed an alternative description, which uses, as prefixes, the corresponding notations (+) and (-), which sound more neutral to my ears.
I have counted the words in contemporary English language where the meaning of the anti- is the
first :; a number close to 60.
antacid, antagonist, anthelmintic, antiaircraft, antibacterial, antibiotic, antibody, anticholinergic, antichrist, anticlerical, anticline, anticoagulant, anticodon, antidepressant, anti-diarrhoeal, antidiuretic, antidote, antiemetic, antifeedant, antiferromagnetic, antifouling, antifreeze, antigen, antigravity, antihero, antihistamine, anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, antiknock, antilock, antilogy, antimacassar, antinomy, antioxidant, antipathy, antipersonnel, antiperspirant, antipruritic, antipsychotic, antipyretic, antiroll-bar, antirrhinum, antiscorbic, anti-Semitism, antisense, antiseptic, antiserum, antisocial, antispasmodic, antistatic, antithesis, antitoxin, antitrust, antivenin, antiviral, antivivisection,.
See also :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:PrefixIndex/Anti I have also counted the words where the meaning of the anti- is the
second : a number close to 10 ;
anthelion, anticlockwise, anticyclone, antilogarithm, antinode, antiparallel, antiparticle, antipodes, antistrophe, anti-symmetric,
The number of different words is not a proof, of course, that the one meaning is more or less frequently used than the other. However, the 6 : 1 ratio tells something, I believe...
This is the reason I do not like the anti-bowline characterization of the "Eskimo" bowline and its derivatives, and I prefer to use the (+) and (-) notation.
The interested reader is kindly requested to figure out a way of denoting diametrically opposed qualities, points, sides, locations, orientations, etc, without denoting any
confrontation that supposedly, sooner or later, will be resolved by the dominance of the one over the other.
Contraria sunt Complementa