northern English · revision 3036

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 890|origins=ang norþerne}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈnɔː.ðᵊn/^(Roach et al. 2011), US /ˈnɔɹ.ðɚn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|northerne]],^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|norþerne|t=northern, Northumbrian, Scandinavian]],^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) formed from [[north]] and the suffix -erne, which denotes direction.^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) It is cognate with Old High German nordrōni “northern” and Old Norse norrœnn “Norwegian”.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of people, living in or coming from the north: about 890.^(OED 1989) Of the wind, blowing from the north, is from before 1000.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old English applied it to Northumbrians and Scandinavians.^(Etymonline) It came to mean belonging to or found in the north (1387)^(OED 1989) and lying towards the north (1590).^(OED 1989) ''Northern Lights'', the aurora borealis, is recorded by 1721.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In the United States it was applied to the northern States from 1836,^(OED 1989) and ''northerner'', a resident of those States, by 1818,^(Etymonline) though the word is found as an English surname in the late 13th century.^(Etymonline) In Scots and northern English dialect, a ''northern gad'' was a spear.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 890 – of people, from the north.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1000 – of the wind.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1387 – belonging to the north.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1590 – lying to the north.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1721 – ''Northern Lights''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1818 – ''northerner'', of the US northern states.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1836 – of the US northern States.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # In, towards or facing the [[north]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Coming from the north: ''a northern wind''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Native to or growing in the north.^(AHD)

+ # Of or typical of northern regions, or of the North of a country.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # North of the [[equator]].^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[northernness]]

+ * [[northernmost]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[north]]

+ * [[southern]]

+ * [[eastern]]

+ * [[western]]

+ * [[Norse]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}