▪ I. north, adv., n., and a.
(nɔːθ)
Forms: 1–3 norð, 1–4 norþ (Orm. norrþ), 3– north, 5–6 northe, Sc. northt. Also abbrev. N.
[Common Teutonic: OE. norð, norþ = OS. norđ, OFris. north, noerd, MDu. nort, noort (Du. noord), MLG. nort, OHG. nort, nord (G. nord), ON. norðr (Sw. nord, norr, Da. nord): not recorded in Gothic, and of uncertain relationship. From Teutonic come F. nord (OF. also nort, north), It. norte, nort, nord, Sp. norte, nord, Pg. norte.
In OE. and OS. north appears only as an adv., in OHG. only as a n.; in OFris., MDu., and ON. it had both functions. For the development of the adjectival use in Eng. see below. OE. had also the adv. form norðan ‘from the north’, = OHG. nordana, ON. norðan (Sw. nordan, Da. norden-), whence be norðan, which survived in the later language as benorth.]
A. adv.
1. Towards, or in the direction of, that part of the earth or the heavens which (in the northern hemisphere) is most remote from the midday sun. Also with qualifications, as north by east, etc. a. With ref. to movement, extent, or direction.
| a 900 O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 823, Hie Baldred þone cyning norþ ofer Temese adrifon. a 1000 Boeth. Metr. xiii. 59 Merecondel scyfð on ofdæle..norð eft & east. a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1064, Fela hund manna hi namon & læddon norð mid heom. c 1205 Lay. 16442 Hengest is ifaren norð. a 1250 Owl & Night. 921 Ac ich fare boþe norþ & soþ. c 1300 Havelok 1255 She lokede norþ, and ek south. c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §17 Fro which lyne alle planetes som tyme declinen north or south. c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 324 Northt so our Ern throuch out the land thai went. 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 80 Can they not in like maner, draw paralleles from th' æquinoctiall Southward as they do North? 1612 Capt. Smith Descr. Virg. Wks. (Arb.) 53 There is one [river] that commeth due north. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 175, I changed my course a little, and went away north-by-east. ? 1788 Cowper Mischievous Bull 21 Therefore go—I care not whether east or north. 1863 Kingsley Water-Bab. iv, I wandered north and north..till I met with cold icebergs. 1894 F. A. Steel Flower Forgiveness 79 If you will take my advice, come up north. |
| Comb. 1891 Scribner's Mag. Sept. 282/1 The traveller boards the north-bound steamer. |
b. With reference to place or location. Also
north-away, in the
north.| Beowulf 858 Moniᵹ oft ᵹecwæð, þætte suð ne norð be sæm tweonum..oþer næniᵹ selra nære. c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. i. 17 Þa wæs he swa feor norþ swa þa hwæl-huntan firrest faraþ. 971 Blickl. Hom. 209 Wæron norð of ðæm stane awexene swiðe hrimiᵹe bearwas. c 1205 Lay. 3443 Leir þe king wende forh to is dohter [þat] wunede norð. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 278 Min fliȝt..ic wile up-taken, Min fete norð on heuene maken. c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. i. §17 Tak kep of thise latitudes north and sowth. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. i. xi. 985 Þe hil of Cawcasus,..North on til Ewrop marchande nere. a 1539 Cartul. Abb. Rievalle (Surtees) 341 The iij romys north therof seelyd round with waynscot. 1607 T. Walkington Opt. Glass ii. 15 The rudenes and simplicitie of the people, that are seated far north. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 569 In the Mount that lies from Eden North,..he first lighted. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 379 They saw another Island on the Right-Hand North. 1738 ― Tour (ed. 2) III. 337 North of the Mouth of this River is..Cromarty Bay. 1878 W. Morris in Mackail Life (1899) I. 370 The heap of grey stones with a grey roof that we call a house north-away. 1955 J. R. R. Tolkien Return of King 197 Going swiftly to lesser posts and strongholds north-away. |
c. In
phr. north and south.
| 14.. Sailing Directions (Hakluyt) 11 Fro Vamborugh to the poynt of the Ilond the cours lieth north and South. 1612 Capt. Smith Descr. Virg. Wks. (Arb.) 48 This Bay lieth North and South. c 1630 Risdon Surv. Devon §249 (1810) 260 Whom though they accounted an heretick, yet buried they him in the church-yard, north and south. 1720 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) VII. 169 A certain Chapell..which he plac'd North and South, in opposition to all other Churches and Chapells. |
| attrib. 1839 Penny Cycl. XIV. 288/1 The deviation of which from the true north-and-south line is the declination of the needle. |
d. In
slang phrases:
too far north, too clever, too knowing.
a little more north (see
quot. 1864).
| 1748 Smollett Rod. Rand. (1780) I. 124 It shan't avail you, you shall find me too far north for you. 1797 A. M. Bennett Beggar Girl (1813) III. 28 She was what I call too far north for that. 1864 Glasgow Her. 9 Nov., An old salt delights to order his steward to make his grog ‘a little more North’, ‘another point, steward’. |
2. a. quasi-n. = B. 1. In early use chiefly in
from north to south. Also
† at north, from the
north.| c 1200 Ormin 11258 All þiss middellærd iss ec O fowwre daless dæledd Onn æst, o Wesst, o Suþ, o Norrþ. 13.. Cursor M. 22330 (Gött.), Þan sal fra north a folk rijs. c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. i. §15 From est to West, fro sowth to north. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. i. ix. 553 Fra north on south þe streme it strekis. 1570 Dee Math. Pref. a iiij b, Of the Variacion of the Compas, from true North. 1625 Purchas Pilgrims I. ii. 60 The first of March a storme took vs at North. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 138 This Morning.., had a fresh Breeze at North. 1748 Hume Ess., Nat. Characters, Most Conquests have gone from North to South. 1821–2 Shelley Chas. I, ii. 421 The rainbow hung over the city..from north to south. 1859 Tennyson Elaine 525 His party, knights of utmost North and West. 1870 Lowell Study Wind. Ser. i. Good Word for Winter, You must have plenty of north in your gale. |
† b. by north, in the north, on the north side.
Perhaps representing
OE. be norðan benorth.
| c 1205 Lay. 21043 Arður wes bi norðe, and noht her of nuste. c 1305 Oxford Student 1 in E.E.P. (1862) 40 A kniȝt þer was in Engelond, by norþe her biside. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 57 Þe grete see Ponticus þat passeþ by north by Thracia. a 1425 Cursor M. 12131 Of any mon bi norþ or souþ who herde euer suche selcouþ? 1570 Levins Manip. 174/1 By Northe, Boreas. |
c. by north: (see
by prep. 9 b).
| 14.. Sailing Directions (Hakluyt) 14 Seint Mary of Cille and Uschante lien northwest and by north. 1612 Capt. Smith Descr. Virg. Wks. (Arb.) 50 The first of those rivers..hath his course from the West and by North. 1795 Cowper Pairing Time 51 The wind..Now shifted east and east by north. 1848 Lowell Biglow P. Ser. i. vii, This..leaves me frontin' South by North. |
B. n. (Usually with
the.)
1. a. That one of the four cardinal points which is directly opposite to the sun at mid-day.
The
true north and
magnetic north correspond respectively to the north, and north magnetic, pole (see
pole n.2 2 and 5 b).
| c 1290 St. Kenelm 12 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 345 Abouten eiȝte hondret mile Engelond long is Fram þe South into þe North. a 1300 E.E. Psalter lxxxviii. 12 Þou grounded þe north to be. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 310 Out of the North they sihe a cloude. a 1450 Fysshynge w. Angle (1883) 21 Yf hyt be by the northe or north est. 1533 Gau Richt Vay 53 He sal..gader to gider al his chosine barnis..fra the sutht to ye northt. 1594 Blundevil Exerc. iii. xix. (1636) 319 How much any Mariners Compasse doth vary from the true North and South. 1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Del. i. iii. (1635) 62 The magneticall needle will vary from the true point of the North. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 79 Farr in th' Horizon to the North appeer'd..a fierie Region. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 145 We were obliged to..go away afore it to the north or north-by-west. 1786 H. Tooke Purley ii. iv. (1829) II. 302 Directing his view to the North rather than to the East. 1812 Woodhouse Astron. xli. 409 The Magnetic North, almost always, differs from the true. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 6 It is a common practice to draw maps in such a position that the north is towards the top. |
| Comb. 1648 J. Beaumont Psyche lx. xxxix, The piercing stroke Of barbarous North-begotten Boreas. 1730–46 Thomson Autumn 890 To where the north-inflated tempest foams O'er Orca's..highest peak. |
b. Bridge. A person occupying a position opposite ‘South’.
| 1926 [see east n. 4]. 1958 Listener 2 Oct. 541/2 North bid Three Clubs. 1965 Ibid. 20 May 758/2 The bidding should have made it clear to him that North was hoping to play in Two Hearts doubled. 1973 Country Life 21 June 1842/3 Study this deal... Dealer, North. North-South vulnerable. |
2. The northern part of a country or region;
spec. a. of England (beyond the Humber), Great Britain, Scotland, or Ireland; the North Country.
| c 1205 Lay. 2134 Albanac hefde al þat norð. c 1275 Ibid. 2659 He..eode forþ, and droþ [= drew] him in to þat norþ. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 25 Ȝit a noþer Danes kyng in þe Norþ gan aryue. c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's T. 95 Of a toun..Fer in the North, I can nat telle where. c 1400 Brut xxii. (1906) 26 Anoþere [way] fram þe Northe into þe Southe, þat was callede Ikenyle strete. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 369 The same mad fellow of the North, Percy. 1665 Sir J. Lauder Jrnl. (1900) 58 A constrainct on that house of Huntly, the Cock of the North. 1674 Ray Coll. Words To Rdr., Local words..in divers Counties,..especially of the North. 1786 H. Tooke Purley ii. iv. (1829) II. 241 The word [scale] is still used in the North. 1855 Tennyson Daisy 104, I forgot the clouded Forth,..And gray metropolis of the North. |
| attrib. 1828 Cunningham N.S. Wales (ed. 3) II. 239 The ‘Cork boys’, the ‘Dublin boys’, and the ‘North boys’. |
b. Of Europe: The northern lands.
| 1579 Fulke Heskins's Parl. 119 Peter acknowledged no Pagans, but such as dwell farthest in the North. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 351 A multitude, like which the populous North Pour'd never from her frozen loyns. 1748 Hume Ess., Nat. Characters, All strong Liquors are rarer in the North, and consequently are more coveted. 1784 Cowper Task i. 617 Thus fare the shiv'ring natives of the north. 1838 Crichton Scandinavia I. 9 The religion, laws, and literature of the ancient North. 1847 Tennyson Princ. iv. 80 Dark and true and tender is the North. |
c. U.S. The northern States, those in which there was no slave-holding, bounded on the south by Maryland, the Ohio River, and Missouri.
| 1796 Washington Messages & Papers (1898) I. 217 The North, in an unrestricted intercourse with the South. 1831 J. M. Peck Guide for Emigrants ii. 81 The result would be more disastrous to the south and west, than the influx of foreign goods was to..the north..in 1816. 1835 in Ht. Martineau Soc. Amer. (1837) II. 132 Men of property and intelligence in the north. 1861 Ld. R. Montagu Mirror Amer. 91 Between the North and South there will be feelings of implacable hatred. 1884 J. Quincy Figures Past 343 Characteristic of slaveholders when upon their good behavior at the North. |
3. a. The northern part
of any country, etc.
| c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. i. xiii. 1183 In to þe northe of Europe is A rywere þat hat Canays. 1622 in Capt. Smith's Wks. (Arb.) 303 A thousand yeares agoe they were in the North of America. 1738 [see C. 1 b]. 1863 Morris Hampole's Pr. Consc. Pref. 8 In the Local-names of the North of England. |
| fig. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iii. ii. 28 You are now sayld into the North of my Ladies opinion. |
b. North-of-England, used
attrib., of, pertaining to, or characteristic of, the north of England.
| 1816 Scott Antiq. III. ii. 34 His father was a north-of-England gentleman. 1847 C. Brontë J. Eyre I. xii. 212 A North-of-England spirit, called a ‘Gytrash’; which,..haunted solitary ways. 1907 F. E. E. Bell At Works vi. 127 Watching football matches, a comfortless thing enough to do in a North of England winter. 1973 J. Wainwright High-Class Kill 221 North-of-England conformity ― best-clothes-on-Sunday-speak-when-you're spoken-to. |
4. a. The north wind. (Chiefly
poet.)
| 1382 Wyclif Song Sol. iv. 16 Ris, north, and cum, south; bloȝ thurȝ my gardyn. |
| 1604 Shakes. Oth. v. ii. 220, I will speake as liberall as the North. c 1648–50 R. Brathwait Barnabees Jrnl. ii. (1818) 45 Sure thou know'st the North's uncivill. 1766 Gray Kingsgate 9 Here reign the blustering North and blighting East. 1786 Burns Mountain Daisy iii, Cauld blew the bitter⁓biting North Upon thy early, humble birth. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam viii. i, The north breathes steadily Beneath the stars. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus xxvi. 3 'Tis not showery south,..North's grim fury, nor east. |
b. A north wind,
esp. one of those northern gales which blow in the West Indies.
| 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. iii. 60 In the West Indies there are three sorts, viz. Norths, Souths and Hurricanes. 1707 Sloane Jamaica I. p. xxxii, Hail..comes with very great Norths, which..throw down everything before them. 1775 Romans Florida App. 11 At the season when Norths are frequent. a 1818 M. G. Lewis Jrnl. W. Ind. (1834) 113 The drying quality of these norths is still more detrimental than the want of rain. 1851 Blyth Rem. Mission. Wk. v. 205 Even the norths which occasionally prevail are mild. |
5. north and south Rhyming slang, mouth;
north canoe, a birchbark canoe once used north and west of Lake Superior, North America;
northpaw U.S. slang (see
quot. 1960).
| 1858 A. Mayhew Paved with Gold ii. x. 169 ‘I'll smash your {oqq}glass case{cqq}, and damage your {oqq}north and south{cqq},’ roared Bill, referring to the face and mouth of his opponent. 1928 M. C. Sharpe Chicago May 287/2 North and South, mouth. 1958 F. Norman Bang to Rights 36 Dust floating about in the air, which gets in your north and south. 1972 Lebende Sprachen XVII. 8/2 North and south, mouth. |
| 1819 W. F. Wentzel Let. in L. F. R. Masson Bourgeois de la Compagnie du Nord-Ouest (1889) I. 134 Sir Alexander Mackenzie has suggested that one north canoe with Canadian voyageurs, and six small Indian canoes, would be a fitter outfit. 1879 H. M. Robinson Great Fur Land 31 The North canoe..is a light graceful vessel about thirty-six long, by four or five broad, and capable of containing eight men and three passengers. 1956 V. Fisher Pemmican 250 A north canoe; twenty-five foot long and from four to five feet wide, it could carry a crew of eight or nine men and their supplies, as well as three passengers. 1969 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 23 Nov. 12/3 Ahead roared the Rapids of the Drowned. They gained their name after one of the Hudson's Bay Company's large north canoes capsized there with the loss of several men. |
| 1960 Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 358/1 Northpaw.., a right-handed baseball pitcher; any right-handed person. 1968 Listener 19 Sept. 357/1 A skilful person is ‘dextrous’: in its way as insulting to left-handers (they call us southpaws, though I have never heard anyone described as a northpaw) as ‘white man’, for someone of worthy character, is offensive to Negroes. 1972 Daily Mail 1 Aug. 2/6, 20 per cent of Americans are tired of grappling with things designed for northpaws. |
C. adj. Developed from the
OE. use of
norð- as the first element of compounds: see examples in 1, and in the main words
northdeal,
-end, -half, etc. Similar compounds also occur in the cognate tongues, but have not given rise to a purely adjectival use of the word.
1. With proper names:
a. Denoting the northern division of a race or nation. (See also
Northumber.)
| Beowulf 783 Norð-denum stod atelic eᵹesa. c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. xxiv, Þa syndon tosceadene mid Trentan streame wið Norðmyrcum. c 922 O.E. Chron. (Parker MS.) an. 922, Þa cyningas on Norþ Wealum..hine sohton him to hlaforde. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. I. 118/2 The countrie of the Northmercies conteined in those daies 7000 housholds. 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. v, Imploring his Aid against the North-Welch. 1841 Latham Eng. Lang. 40 The situation of the North Frisians has been indicated. |
b. Denoting the northern part of a country, land, or region, or the more northern of two places having the same name. Also
attrib.| c 1205 Lay. 29923 Inne Norð Wales wes a king. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 69 Caerleel is a citee in þe contre of Norþ Engelond. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 290 Half an acre in northlonglond. 1547 Boorde Introd. Knowl. ii. (1870) 127 North Wales and Sowth Wales do vary in there speche. 1615 R. Brathwait Strappado (1878) 110 Where he encountred a North-britaine man. 1708 Lond. Gaz. No. 4422/7 Where-ever they should be called within North-Britain. 1738 De Foe Tour (ed. 2) III. 335 That which we truly call the North of Scotland, and others the North Highlands. 1845 Kemble in Proc. Philol. Soc. II. 132 The Danish isles, and much of North Germany. |
| transf. 1801 Sporting Mag. XVIII. 101 North Allertons—Spurs; that place..being famous for making them. |
c. With
ns. and
adjs. derived from the names of countries or districts.
| 1708– [see North Briton]. 1766 [see North American]. 1796 Morse Amer. Geogr. I. 654 The North Carolinians are mostly planters. 1845 Kemble in Proc. Philol. Soc. II. 119 On the North Anglian Dialect. |
d. North Oxford, of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the suburban part of Oxford north of the university area, where many dons and their families live. Also as
n.| 1935 N. Mitchison We have been Warned iv. 462 She had..a Sybil Dunlop moonstone on a long silver chain. A bit North Oxfordy? Well, she was North Oxford! 1950 A. Wilson Such Darling Dodos 79 The whimsical humour of North Oxford. Ibid. 97 Why you should have to drag Coleridge in, only your staunch North Oxford spirit can explain. 1973 Country Life 13 Sept. 720/1 The houses behind (Carolean or North Oxford Gothic?)..seem oddly familiar. 1974 F. Emery Oxfordsh. Landscape vii. 214 Between the rustic variety of Summertown and the old suburbs of St Giles lies the Victorian perfection of North Oxford proper. |
2. a. With ordinary nouns: Lying towards the north; situated on the side next the
north.| a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 565, Columba..com to Pyhtum..þæt sind þone wærteres be norðum morum. |
| 1382 Wyclif Num. xxxiv. 7 To the north plage [1388 at the north coost] fro the greet see teermes shulen begynne. c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §21 Fro the pool artik vn-to the north Orisonte. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 93 That cuntre of Media towchethe Parthia of the northe parte. 1486 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1904) 14 On the North part of the Chirch. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 452 Kynge of the North regyon. Ibid. 473 Penda..to the North partyes went. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 380 Thy Master staies for thee at the North gate. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 121 Being once past the vtmost quarter of the North-point. 1612 Capt. Smith Descr. Virg. Wks. (Arb.) 47 The degrees of 34 and 44 of the north latitude. 1726 J. Dart Canterb. Cathedr. 60 In the North-Cross or Martyrdom, where are the Tombs of the Archbishops. 1837 Penny Cycl. VII. 146/2 A north transept..longer than the south transept. |
| Comb. 1862 Ansted Channel Isl. i. i. 5 A north-central group, including Guernsey, Herm, Sark [etc.]. |
b. Facing the
north. Also
Comb.| 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iii. vii. 167 A North-window is best for Butteries and Cellars. 1706 London & Wise Retir'd Gard. 69 Plant no more than two sorts against a North-aspected Wall. 1727–38 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Dial, A north dial shews the hours before six in the morning, and those after six in the evening. 1796 C. Marshall Gardening iii. (1813) 29 The North wall is greatly advantaged, by having more sun. |
c. Northern; of a northern type.
| 1820 Keats Isabella xxxii, Before he dares to stray From his north cavern. 1836 F. S[ykes] Scraps from Jrnl. 106 The building is very neat..; it is peculiarly north. |
| Comb. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. i. xi, Considerate North-blooded Mountaineers of Jura. |
d. North Circular (Road), a road passing through the northern outskirts of London.
| 1944 M. Laski Love on Supertax xi. 102 After a prolonged..journey by 'bus, Clarissa alighted way out on the North Circular Road. 1968 J. Lloyd Death at Roman Farm xviii. 171 You go straight through town and send the other car round the North Circular. 1974 ‘A. Garve’ File on Lester xxxi. 118 He became silent, concentrating on his driving on the busy North Circular. |
3. Of the wind: Blowing from the
north. Perhaps representing
OE. norðanwind.
| c 1340 Nominale sive Verbale (Skeat) 565 Northwynde, Estwynde. 1483 Cath. Angl. 256/1 Þ⊇ Northe wynde; boreas, septemtrio. 1535 Coverdale Song Sol. iv. 16 Vp thou northwynde, come thou southwynde. 1608 Shakes. Per. iv. i. 52 When I was born, the wind was north. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 489 The dusky clouds Ascending, while the North wind sleeps. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull i. xvi, You might argue as well with the North wind, as with her ladyship. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XIII. 106/1 The north wind is generally accompanied with a considerable degree of cold. 1833 Tennyson Two Voices 259 He will not hear the north-wind rave. 1857 Emerson Poems 42 Without the baffled north-wind calls. |
| fig. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. ii. vi. (1674) 145 They should sail with the safe North-wind of Ne-quid nimis. |
4. Comb.,
north-facing a., facing the north;
spec. of a window.
| 1952 A. G. L. Hellyer Sanders' Encycl. Gardening (ed. 22) 205 Position, semi-shaded or north-facing. 1973 ‘I. Drummond’ Jaws of Watchdog xii. 156 A large window. North-facing so I guess a studio. |
▪ II. north, v. rare.
(
nɔːθ)
[f. prec.] 1. intr. Of the wind: To begin to blow from the north; to turn or veer towards the
north.| 1866 in Gregor Banffsh. Gloss. 1880–1 in Jamieson. |
2. trans. To steer to the north of (a place).
| 1887 Morris Odyss. iii. 170 Whether northing Chios the craggy, our ships we so should lay. |