DictionaryAI

northern

NOR-thurn/ˈnɔɹðɚn/UKNAW-thuhn/ˈnɔːðən/

Noun pluralnortherns

5 meanings of northern

Practice

  1. 1
    compass directionadjective
    Of, situated in, facing, or relating to the north; of a wind, coming from the north.

    The expedition mapped the northern coastline over several months.

    Many northern towns see snow well into spring.

    UsageUsually more northern, most northern, and northernmost for the farthest; often before a region: northern India.

    Oppositesouthern

  2. 2
    English regionadjectiveBritish
    Characteristic of the North of England, its people, speech, or culture.

    The novel captures Northern bluntness and warmth in equal measure.

    Visitors often comment on the Northern hospitality and plain speaking.

    UsageUsually written with a capital: a Northern accent, Northern humour, though lowercase also appears.

    Note

    British usage gives the word a cultural meaning as well as a compass bearing. A Northern comedian, accent or manner carries the character associated with the North of England.

  3. 3
    pike fishnouncountable
    A large, predatory freshwater fish of the pike family, commonly called the northern pike.

    A trophy northern can stretch well over three feet in length.

    The guide pointed to where the northerns lurk among the weeds.

    UsageMostly anglers' talk; plural northerns. Elsewhere the full name northern pike is clearer.

    Similarpike

    Note

    Fishing writers use it freely next to related names. Barry Reynolds and John Berryman's Pike on the Fly (1993) sets the muskie beside northerns when describing spawning.

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    Mountie filmnouncountable
    A film or dramatic work set in the late 1800s or early 1900s in the north of North America (usually western Canada or Alaska) often featuring a Mountie as the hero.

    A northern is to the Canadian wilderness what the Western is to the American desert.

    The director's first northern follows a Mountie tracking a fugitive across the Yukon.

    Early northerns often romanticized life in the frozen wilderness.

  2. 5
    nounrare
    A person who lives in or comes from the northern regions; a northerner.

Practice

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Origin

Built from north plus -ern, it goes back to Proto-Germanic *nurþrōnijaz, which gave Proto-West Germanic *norþrōnī, Old English norþerne, and Middle English northerne. Old High German nordrōni and Old Norse norrœnn are cognates.