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Added 4 October 2026

north

/nɔːθ/ noun

In Latin: boreās, septentriō Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about north at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The direction towards the pole to the left-hand side of someone facing east, specifically 0°, or (on another celestial object) the direction towards the pole lying on the northern side of the invariable plane.
Minnesota is in the north of the USA.
The up or positive direction.
Stock prices are heading back towards the north.
The positive or north pole of a magnet, which seeks the magnetic pole near Earth's geographic North Pole (which, for its magnetic properties, is a south pole).

adjective

Of or pertaining to the north; northern.
He lived in north Germany.
Toward the north; northward.
Napoleon ordered Villeneuve north to France.
Of wind, from the north.
The north wind was cold.

adverb

Toward the north; northward; northerly.
Switzerland is north of Italy.

verb

To turn or move toward the north.

Origin

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".

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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