norte

Forms

norte m (plural nortes)^[1] Old Spanish texts also spell it north, nort and norch.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French nord (“north”), which is from Old English norþ (“north”).^[3][1] Corominas and the Breve diccionario take it from Old English, probably through French.^[4][5] The Old French word is first recorded in Normandy in 1140, spelt north, and later nort, and the spelling ⟨nord⟩ dates from 1549.^[6] Corominas derives all four cardinal points from Old English through French: the vowel of este shows that the source was English and not another Germanic language, and French had all of them from the 12th century, long before Spanish.^[4]

The Old English word belongs to a Germanic family of unknown origin.^[6] The Vox dictionary and the Spanish Wiktionary connect it with an Indo-European root meaning “left”, since the north was on the left of someone facing the rising sun.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records name the Pole Star: in the Libro del conocimiento de todos los reinos (c. 1350) „en estas sierras veen la estrella de norte en el medio cielo” “in these mountains they see the North Star in the middle of the sky”, and López de Ayala's Rimado de Palacio (c. 1385) has estrella del norte.^[9][2] The DCECH's first record is Alonso de Palencia in 1490;^[10] Columbus uses norte many times in 1492.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

Covarrubias says norte and polo mean the same, and reports Goropius Becanus's view that the word is Flemish noort.^[10] Autoridades defines it as the Arctic Pole, the star next to it, the northern part of the world and the north wind, quoting Acosta and Cervantes („vientos nortes”).^[11] The sense “guide” alludes to the Pole Star that guides sailors.^[12]

In Mexico and Central America a norte is a cold, strong north wind, and in Panama, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela a passing rain of November to January.^[13][14] In Cuba el Norte meant the United States.^[15] In the Canaries el norte is the side of each island that faces the moist trade winds.^[16] An Argentine proverb says norte claro, sur oscuro, aguacero seguro.^[17][18]

Timeline

• c. 1350 – estrella de norte in the Libro del conocimiento de todos los reinos.^[9]
• c. 1385 – estrella del norte in López de Ayala's Rimado de Palacio.^[2][9]
• 1490 – Alonso de Palencia, the first record in the DCECH.^[4][5]
• 1492 – Columbus's diary of his first voyage uses norte and sur many times.^[4]
• 1527 – first record in the Americas, in Nicaragua.^[19]
• 1611 – Covarrubias equates norte with polo.^[10]
• 1726–1739 – Autoridades has the pole, the northern lands and the north wind.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. north: the cardinal point in front of an observer who has the east on the right.^[3][1]
2. The region in the northern part of a country or area: Mis padres viven en el norte.^[3]
3. A place lying to the north of another.^[3]
4. (in apposition) Facing the north or coming from it: la cara norte.^[3]
5. The north wind.^[3][1]
6. (figurative) A guide or point of reference.^[3][1]
7. (figurative) An aim or goal.^[3][1]
8. (Mexico, Central America) A cold, strong wind from the north.^[13]

Adjective

1. North, northern.^[1]

Word family

• nortada
• nortear
• norteño
• nortino
• noreste
• noroeste
• nororiente
• norponiente
• Norteamérica

Related words

• boreal
• septentrional
• este
• Old English norþ

Usage notes

Perder el norte is to lose one's bearings.^[1] Norte magnético is the direction of the magnetic pole.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. norte
4. ^ a b c d e Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 779
5. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. norte
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. norte
8. ^ Wikcionario (Spanish Wiktionary), es.wiktionary.org
9. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. norte
10. ^ a b c Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1167
11. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 679
12. ^ Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe
13. ^ a b Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer
14. ^ Santamaría, Francisco J. (1959), Diccionario de mejicanismos, México: Porrúa
15. ^ Suárez, Constantino (1921), Vocabulario cubano, La Habana: Librería Cervantes / Madrid: Perlado, Páez y Compañía
16. ^ Academia Canaria de la Lengua (2010), Diccionario básico de canarismos, Santa Cruz de Tenerife; online at https://www.academiacanarialengua.org
17. ^ Garzón, Tobías (1910), Diccionario argentino, Barcelona: Imprenta Elzeviriana de Borrás y Mestres
18. ^ Malaret, Augusto (1946), Diccionario de americanismos, 3rd ed., Buenos Aires: Emecé
19. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. norte