English Online Dictionary. What means north? What does north mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English north, from Old English norþ, from Proto-West Germanic *norþr, from Proto-Germanic *nurþrą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nér (“below (the surface)”). The meaning developed either from "region where the sun is below (the earth)" or from "left side of someone who turns to the east when praying".
Cognate with various Germanic counterparts such as Dutch noord, West Frisian noard, German Nord, Danish and Norwegian nord; also with Greek νέρτερος (nérteros, “infernal, lower”) and Sanskrit नरक (naraka, “hell”)
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /nɔːθ/
- (General American) enPR: nôrth, IPA(key): /noɹθ/, [no̞ɹθ]
- (Inland Northern American) IPA(key): /noɹt/
- (New York) IPA(key): /nɔəθ/
- (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /noːθ/
- (without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA(key): /nɔː(ɹ)θ/
- Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)θ
Noun
north (countable and uncountable, plural norths)
- The direction towards the pole to the left-hand side of someone facing east, specifically 0°, or (on another celestial object) the direction towards the pole lying on the northern side of the invariable plane.
- Alternative form: (abbreviation) N
- The up or positive direction.
- (physics) The positive or north pole of a magnet, which seeks the magnetic pole near Earth's geographic North Pole (which, for its magnetic properties, is a south pole).
- Alternative letter-case form of North (“a northern region; the inhabitants thereof”). [circa 1300]
- (ecclesiastical) In a church: the direction to the left-hand side of a person facing the altar.
Antonyms
- south
Coordinate terms
compass points: [edit]
Derived terms
Related terms
- Norse
Translations
- Also see Appendix:Cardinal directions for translations of all compass points
Adjective
north (not comparable)
- Of or pertaining to the north; northern.
- He lived in north Germany.
- She entered through the north gate.
- Toward the north; northward.
- (meteorology) Of wind, from the north.
- Pertaining to the part of a corridor used by northbound traffic.
- north highway 1
- (ecclesiastical) Designating, or situated in, the liturgical north (in a church, the direction to the left-hand side of a person facing the altar).
- (colloquial) More or greater than.
Synonyms
- (of the north): boreal, septentrional
Antonyms
- south, austral, meridional
Derived terms
Translations
Adverb
north (not comparable)
- Toward the north; northward; northerly.
Antonyms
- south
Translations
Verb
north (third-person singular simple present norths, present participle northing, simple past and past participle northed)
- (obsolete, intransitive) To turn or move toward the north.
Anagrams
- Rt Hon, Rt. Hon., Thorn, thorn
Cornish
Alternative forms
- (Revived Late Cornish) noor
Etymology
From English north.
Noun
north m
- (navigation) north
- Synonyms: gogledh, kledhbarth
- Antonyms: dyghow, dyghowbarth, soth
Derived terms
Middle English
Alternative forms
- norþ, northe, norþe, norrþ
Etymology
From Old English norþ
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nɔrθ/
Noun
north
- north, northernness
- A location to the north; the north
- The north wind
Coordinate terms
- (compass point): est, south, west
Related terms
- northerne
- Northfolk
- Northumberlond
- Northumbre
Descendants
- English: north
- Scots: north
- Yola: nordh, noardth
References
- “north, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 29-03-2018.
Adjective
north
- north, northern
- At the north
Descendants
- English: north
- Scots: north
- Yola: nordh
References
- “north, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 29-03-2018.
Adverb
north
- To the north, northwards
- From the north
- In the north
Descendants
- English: north
- Scots: north
- Yola: nordh
References
- “north, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 29-03-2018.