Etymology: < north adv. Compare earlier norther v.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian north , nord , nōrd (noun) the north, (adverb) to the north, northwards, (adjective) northerly (West Frisian noard ), Middle Dutch nort , noort (noun) the north, (adverb) to the north, in the north, (adjective) northerly (in Old Dutch as north only as a gloss and in place names; Dutch noord ), Old Saxon north , adverb (Middle Low German nōrt , noun), Old High German nort , nord (noun) the north, the north wind (Middle High German nort , German Nord ), Old Icelandic norðr (noun) the north, (adverb) northwards, Old Swedish nordh , nor , noun and adverb (Swedish nord , norr ), Old Danish north , nor , nør , nord , noun and adverb (Danish nord ); see below for further etymology. For cognate forms with different suffixation compare forms cited at northern adj., norther adj., northen adj., northen adv. and the nouns Middle Dutch norden , noorden (Dutch noorden ), Middle Low German nōrden , Old High German nordan (Middle High German norden , German Norden ), and also the adverbs Old Frisian northeron to the north, Middle High German norder in the north. Compare Anglo-Norman and Old French north , nort (c1140 in Anglo-Norman as norht ; Middle French, French nord (1549)), probably, like est east n.¹, < English, although borrowing < a different Germanic language cannot be ruled out on formal grounds; compare also (probably via French) Spanish norte (a1406), Portuguese norte (1499), Italian †nort (1534), nord (1761). The Germanic base is perhaps < an ablaut variant of the Indo-European base of Greek νέρτερος lower, belonging to the lower world, Umbrian nertru on the left (see nerterology n.); it has been suggested that the connection between ‘north’ and ‘lower, left’ may perhaps have derived from the practice of making sacrifices while facing east (i.e. the direction of the dawn; compare the orientation of the Christian altar): ‘north’ is then both ‘left’ and ‘lower’ (in terms of the sun's position high in the south at noon).In Old English the word occurs only as an adverb. The adjectival use in English probably developed from the widespread Old English use of the adverb stem as the first element of compounds (compare examples at senses B. 1, B. 2, B. 3, and also northdeal n., north end n., north half n., etc.), in which north , having a virtually adjectival force, came by the Middle English period (after the loss of adjectival inflection) to be regarded as a separable word, no different from other adjectives. Compare northen adj. The β. forms occur frequently in compounds, but only rarely in uncompounded use (now only regional: compare W. Elmer Terminol. Fishing (1973) iv. 167, who records uncompounded forms without final -th from locations in Devon).