Etymologically
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northern

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:29. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈnɔː.ðᵊn/[1], US /ˈnɔɹ.ðɚn/[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English northerne,[3] inherited from Old English norþerne (“northern, Northumbrian, Scandinavian”),[4][5] formed from north and the suffix -erne, which denotes direction.[4][5] It is cognate with Old High German nordrōni “northern” and Old Norse norrœnn “Norwegian”.[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of people, living in or coming from the north: about 890.[6] Of the wind, blowing from the north, is from before 1000.[6]

Semantic evolution

Old English applied it to Northumbrians and Scandinavians.[4] It came to mean belonging to or found in the north (1387)[6] and lying towards the north (1590).[6] Northern Lights, the aurora borealis, is recorded by 1721.[4][6] In the United States it was applied to the northern States from 1836,[6] and northerner, a resident of those States, by 1818,[4] though the word is found as an English surname in the late 13th century.[4] In Scots and northern English dialect, a northern gad was a spear.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 890 – of people, from the north.[6]
  • before 1000 – of the wind.[6]
  • 1387 – belonging to the north.[6]
  • 1590 – lying to the north.[6]
  • 1721 – Northern Lights.[4][6]
  • 1818 – northerner, of the US northern states.[4]
  • 1836 – of the US northern States.[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. In, towards or facing the north.
  2. Coming from the north: a northern wind.
  3. Native to or growing in the north.
  4. Of or typical of northern regions, or of the North of a country.
  5. North of the equator.

Word family

  • northernness
  • northernmost

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)