Etymologically
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north

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /nɔːθ/, US /nɔːrθ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English north, inherited from Old English norþ (“northwards, to the north”),[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *nurtha-,[2] which is of uncertain origin.[2][5] Etymonline, Barnhart and Klein connect it with Proto-Indo-European *ner- (“left; below”), since north is on the left of someone facing the rising sun, citing Oscan nertrak (“left”) and Greek νέρτερος (nérteros, “lower, infernal”);[2][3][6] Old Irish túath (“left; northern”) shows the same idea.[2][6] Etymonline also mentions the notion that the sun is at its lowest in the north.[2] Its relatives include Dutch noord, German Nord and Old Norse norðr.[3][2] French nord was borrowed from Old English, and Spanish norte and Italian nord from French.[2][3][6] It is related to Norse, Nordic and Norman.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Northwards, in the north: Old English norþ, about 725, in Beowulf, where it also forms compounds.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The adjective is found on its own in 1131, in the Peterborough Chronicle.[3] The noun, the northern point or direction, is late 12th century[2] or probably before 1200, in Layamon.[3] Northward is from the 12th century, northerly from 1551, and northerner from the 19th century,[5][3] while northern goes back to Old English.[5] The northern states of the US have been called the North since 1792.[7] The verb, “to move northward”, is recorded from 1850.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – Old English norþ (Beowulf).[3]
  • 1131 – adjective (Peterborough Chronicle).[3]
  • late 12th century – noun.[2]
  • 1551 – northerly.[3]
  • 1792 – the northern US states.[7]
  • 1850 – verb, to move north.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The direction to the left of someone facing the sunrise; the cardinal point opposite south.
  2. A region lying in the north.
  3. (often capitalized) The northern part of a country or of the world.

Adjective

  1. In, toward, facing or coming from the north.

Adverb

  1. In, from or toward the north.

Word family

  • northbound
  • northbridge
  • northeaster
  • norther
  • northerly
  • northern
  • northerner
  • northing

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)