north

Etymology

From Middle English north, from Old English norþ, cognate with various Germanic counterparts such as Dutch noord, West Frisian noard, German Nord, Danish and Norwegian nord, all from a Proto-Germanic *nurþrą, and cognate with Greek νέρτερος (nérteros, “infernal, lower”). Ultimately, these may derive from either: (a) from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ner- (“inner, under”), from *h₁en (“in”); (b) alternatively from a Proto-Indo-European *ner- (“left, below”), as north is to the left when one faces the rising sun.

noun

1. One of the four principal compass points, specifically 0° (being directed towards the North Pole); conventionally upwards on a map.
   Alternative form: (abbreviation) N
   Minnesota is in the north of the USA.
2. The up or positive direction.
   Stock prices are heading back towards the north.
3. (physics) 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).
4. Alternative letter-case form of North (“a northern region; the inhabitants thereof”).
   […] and after independence the north clung to sugar production longer than the south, with the result that when the north took […] 2002, Mats Lundahl, Politics or Markets?: Essays on Haitian Underdevelopment, Routledge
5. (ecclesiastical) In a church: the direction to the left-hand side of a person facing the altar.
   If candidates stand on the liturgical south facing the presider and liturgical assistants on the liturgical north, it will present better visual lines for the congregation than if they stand facing east and west with their backs toward the congregation. 1998, Leonel L. Mitchell, Pastoral and Occasional Liturgies: A Ceremonial Guide, Rowman & Littlefield, page 49
   Many early Christian basilicas were designed with twin ambos for the proclamation of the epistle (on the liturgical south side) and the Gospel (on the north). The separation of the ambos indicated the distinction that should be accorded the Gospel, which was proclaimed from the north as if evangelization needed to happen to the geographically southern part of the world. 2011, Paul Turner, At the Supper of the Lamb: A Pastoral and Theological Commentary on the Mass, LiturgyTrainingPublications, page 27
   At St. Andrew's, ecclesiastical north, south, east, and west correspond to geographical northeast, southwest, southeast, and northwest. 2014, Paul Porwoll, Against All Odds: History of Saint Andrew's Parish Church, Charleston, 1706-2013, WestBow Press, page 365
   The new St Mary's Anglican Church, Walkerville, has an attached rectory flanking to the liturgical south and an attached parish hall flanking to the liturgical north, both half-timbered in the Tudor Revival style. [Referring to a church that is oriented SSE, making "south" WSW] 2017, Cameron Macdonell, Ghost Storeys: Ralph Adams Cram, Modern Gothic Media, and Deconstructive Microhistory at a Canadian Church, McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

adj

1. Of or pertaining to the north; northern.
   He lived in north Germany.
   She entered through the north gate.
2. Toward the north; northward.
   The most dangerous ones are those that develop during October and November and that follow a north path affecting the western part of the island. 1987, Ana María Brull Vázquez, Rosa E. Casas, Cuba, page 23
3. (meteorology) Of wind, from the north.
   The north wind was cold.
4. Pertaining to the part of a corridor used by northbound traffic.
   north highway 1
   Traffic was doing the speed limit on North I-45 one minute and had come to a stand-still the next. 2001, Joseph R Miller, Pipe Tobacco and Wool
5. (ecclesiastical) Designating, or situated in, the liturgical north (in a church, the direction to the left-hand side of a person facing the altar).
   […] the high church had liked its clergy to preside at the Eucharist in an ad orientem position; the low church advocated what was called the north end position; but the Liturgical Movement asked the priest to take a basilical position, facing liturgical west, and now both Anglican factions could agree on this third position without either of them losing face. 2011, Michael Attridge, Catherine E. Clifford, Gilles Routhier, Vatican II: Expériences canadiennes – Canadian experiences, University of Ottawa Press, page 145
   Throughout the book I refer directionally to the altar and chancel of St. Andrew's as situated at ecclesiastical east (to avoid overcomplicating matters), not geographical or magnetic southeast. Thus, […] The north side faces the river (beyond the subdivision behind the church), and the south side, Ashley River Road. […] At St. Andrew's, ecclesiastical north, south, east, and west correspond to geographical northeast, southwest, southeast, and northwest. Unless otherwise indicated, compass directions given in this book are ecclesiastical, not geographical, reference points. 2014, Paul Porwoll, Against All Odds: History of Saint Andrew's Parish Church, Charleston, 1706-2013, WestBow Press, page 365
6. (colloquial) More or greater than.
   The wedding ended up costing north of $50,000.
   The price you're offering had better be north of the highest price this company has ever traded for. 1993, Barbarians at the Gate, spoken by Charlie Hugel (Tom Aldredge)
   Some of the windscreens we replace cost north of $1800[.] Dec 2021, The Road Ahead, Brisbane, page 57, column 2

adv

1. Toward the north; northward; northerly.
   Switzerland is north of Italy.
   We headed north.

verb

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To turn or move toward the north.
   When at B you had northed 3.71[…] 1769, Henry Wilson, William Hume, Surveying improved, page 239