north

A2 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /noɹθ/ UK /nɔːθ/ See IPA manual

Freq #1058

Meanings

1

noun
The direction that is on your left when you face the rising sun; one of the four main points of the compass.

Minnesota is in the north of the United States.
2

adv
Toward or in the north.

We drove north for several hours to reach the mountains.
3

adj
In, facing, or coming from the north.

A cold north wind blew across the fields.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 adv · toward or in the north. northward northwards

More boreal septentrional

Opposites

austral meridional south

Word family

Forms norths

Derived forms northite

Related forms norse

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

north west
The direction halfway between north and west.

Noun + noun

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". Cognates Cognate with various Germanic counterparts such as Yola noardth, nordh (“north”), North Frisian noor, nord, nuurd, Nuurđ (“north”), Saterland Frisian Noude, Nudde (“north”), West Frisian noard (“north”), Dutch noord (“north”), German Nord (“north”), Danish, Norwegian…

north Middle English norþ Old English *norþr Proto-West Germanic *nurþrą Proto-Germanic *nér Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction

External links

# north

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun, adv, adj
**IPA (US):** /noɹθ/
**IPA (UK):** /nɔːθ/
**Frequency rank:** 1058

## Meanings
1. The direction that is on your left when you face the rising sun; one of the four main points of the compass.
2. Toward or in the north.
3. In, facing, or coming from the north.

## Examples
- Minnesota is in the north of the United States.
- We drove north for several hours to reach the mountains.
- A cold north wind blew across the fields.

## Synonyms
- boreal
- septentrional

## Antonyms
- austral
- meridional
- south

## Derived Forms
- northite

## Related Forms
- norse

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: north
- Root: norþ
- Root: *norþr
- Root: *nurþrą
- Root: *nér

## 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". Cognates Cognate with various Germanic counterparts such as Yola noardth, nordh (“north”), North Frisian noor, nord, nuurd, Nuurđ (“north”), Saterland Frisian Noude, Nudde (“north”), West Frisian noard (“north”), Dutch noord (“north”), German Nord (“north”), Danish, Norwegian…

## AI Etymology
North comes 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". Modern senses include the direction that is on your left when you face the rising sun; one of the four main points of the compass and toward or in the north. The wider word family includes derivatives such as northite and related forms such as norse.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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