Etymograph

English

north

North comes from Old English norþ, from Proto-Germanic *nurþrą, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nér ‘below (the surface)’, probably from the sun being below the earth there, or from the left side when facing east.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nér1‘below (the surface)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nŕ̥t(e)ros1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nurþraz1‘northern’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nurþrą1‘north’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*norþr1‘northern’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150norþ1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500north1‘north’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1769north1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English north
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1769, Henry Wilson, William Hume: “When at B you had northed 3.71[…]”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nérWiktionary, English north‘below (the surface)’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nŕ̥t(e)rosWiktionary, English northreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nurþrazWiktionary, English north‘northern’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nurþrąWiktionary, English north‘north’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*norþrWiktionary, English north‘northern’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150norþWiktionary, English north
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500northWiktionary, English north‘north’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1769northWiktionary, English north. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1769, Henry Wilson, William Hume: “When at B you had northed 3.71[…]”

The story

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".

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *nér

Today it means

noun 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.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “north”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *nér / north

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