northern

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north·ern

(nôr′thərn)

adj.

1. Situated in, toward, or facing the north.

2. Coming from the north: northern breezes.

3. Native to or growing in the north.

4. often Northern Of, relating to, or characteristic of northern regions or the North.

5. Being north of the equator.

[Middle English northerne, from Old English; see ner- in Indo-European roots.]

north′ern·ness′ n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

northern

(ˈnɔːðən)

adj

1. (Physical Geography) situated in or towards the north: northern towns.

2. (Physical Geography) directed or proceeding towards the north: a northern flow of traffic.

3. (Physical Geography) (esp of winds) proceeding from the north

4. (sometimes capital) of, relating to, or characteristic of the north or North

5. (Astronomy) (sometimes capital) astronomy north of the celestial equator

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

north•ern

(ˈnɔr ðərn)

adj.

1. lying toward or situated in the north.

2. directed or proceeding northward.

3. coming from the north, as a wind.

4. (often cap.) of or pertaining to the North, esp. the northern U.S.

5. north of the celestial equator or of the zodiac.

[before 900]

north

– northern

1. 'north'

The north is the direction that is on your left when you are looking towards the direction where the sun rises.

The land to the north and east was very flat.

There is a possibility of colder weather and winds from the north.

A north wind blows from the north.

The north wind was blowing straight into her face.

The north of a place is the part that is towards the north.

The violence started in the north of the country.

The best asparagus comes from the Calvados region in the north of France.

North occurs in the names of some countries, states, and regions.

They have hopes for business in North Korea.

They crossed the mountains of North Carolina.

We are worried about possible ecological damage in North America.

2. 'northern'

However, you don't usually talk about a 'north' part of a country or region. You talk about a northern part.

Hausa is a language spoken in the northern regions of West Africa.

We travelled to the northern tip of Caithness.

Similarly, don't talk about 'north Europe' or 'north England'. You say northern Europe or northern England.

Preston had flown over northern Canada.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	Northern - a dialect of Middle English that developed into Scottish Lallans Middle English - English from about 1100 to 1450
Adj.	1.	northern - in or characteristic of a region of the United States north of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line; "Northern liberals"; "northern industry"; "northern cities" southern - in or characteristic of a region of the United States south of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line; "southern hospitality"; "southern cooking"; "southern plantations"
	2.	northern - situated in or oriented toward the north; "the northern suburbs"; "going in a northerly direction" northerly north - situated in or facing or moving toward or coming from the north; "artists like north light"; "the north portico"
	3.	northern - coming from the north; used especially of wind; "the north wind doth blow"; "a northern snowstorm"; "the winds are northerly" northerly north - situated in or facing or moving toward or coming from the north; "artists like north light"; "the north portico"
	4.	northern - situated in or coming from regions of the north; "the northern hemisphere"; "northern autumn colors" southern - situated in or coming from regions of the south; "the southern hemisphere"; "southern constellations"

Translations

شَمالي، الشَّمالشِمَالِيّ

severníseverský

nordlig

nördlich

βόρειος

del norte norte norteño boreal

pohjois-

boréal

sjeverni

aî norîan; norîlægur, norîanverîur

settentrionale nordico

北の

북쪽의

severský

severen

nordlig

ทางภาคเหนือ

kuzeykuzeyde olan

ở phía bắc

北方的北部的

northern

[ˈnɔːðən]

A. ADJ → del norte, norteño, septentrional
the northern part of the island → la parte norte or septentrional de la isla
the northern coast → la costa septentrional or (del) norte
in northern Spain → al norte or en el norte de España, en la España septentrional

B. CPD the northern hemisphere N → el hemisferio norte, el hemisferio boreal
Northern Ireland N → Irlanda f del Norte
the northern lights N → la aurora boreal

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

northern

[ˈnɔː^rðə^rn] adj [country, town] → du nord; [accent] → du nord; [area, part] → nord
the northern part of the island → la partie nord de l'île, la partie septentrionale de l'île
Northern Europe → l'Europe du Nord
in northern Italy → dans le nord de l'Italie

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

northern

adj hemisphere, counties → nördlich; northern Germany/Italy → Norddeutschland/-italien nt; Northern Irish → nordirisch; with a northern outlook → mit Blick nach Norden

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

northern

[ˈnɔːðən] adj (region) → del nord, settentrionale; (wall) → (esposto/a a) nord inv; (coast) → settentrionale
in northern Spain → nel nord della Spagna, nella Spagna settentrionale

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

north

(noːθ) noun

1. the direction to the left of a person facing the rising sun, or any part of the earth lying in that direction. He faced towards the north; The wind is blowing from the north; I used to live in the north of England.

2. (also N) one of the four main points of the compass.

adjective

1. in the north. on the north bank of the river.

2. from the direction of the north. a north wind.

adverb

towards the north. The stream flows north.

ˈnortherly (-ðə-) adjective

1. (of a wind etc) coming from the north. a northerly breeze.

2. looking, lying etc towards the north. in a northerly direction.

ˈnorthern (-ðən) adjective

of the north or the North.

ˈnortherner (-ðə-) noun

a person who lives, or was born, in a northern region or country.

ˈnorthernmost (-ðən-) adjective

being furthest north. the northernmost point of the coast.

ˈnorthward adjective

towards the north. in a northward direction.

ˈnorthward(s) adverb

towards the north. They were travelling northwards.

ˈnorthbound adjective

travelling northwards. the northbound railway-line.

ˌnorth-ˈeast / ˌnorth-ˈwest nouns, adjective

(in or from) the direction midway between north and east or north and west, or any part of the earth lying in that direction. the north-east counties; a north-west wind.

adverb

towards the north-east or north-west. The building faces north-west.

ˌnorth-ˈeasterly / ˌnorth-ˈwesterly adjective

1. (of a wind etc) coming from the north-east or north-west. a north-easterly wind.

2. looking, lying etc towards the north-east or north-west. a north-westerly direction.

ˌnorth-ˈeastern / ˌnorth-ˈwestern adjective

of the north-east or north-west.

the North Pole

the northern end of the imaginary line through the earth, round which it turns.

northern

→ شِمَالِيّ severní nordlig nördlich βόρειος del norte pohjois- boréal sjeverni settentrionale 北の 북쪽의 noord- nordlig północny do norte северный nordlig ทางภาคเหนือ kuzey ở phía bắc 北方的

References in classic literature ?

Watson) from the somewhat northern character of the flora in comparison with the latitude, I suspected that these islands had been partly stocked by ice-borne seeds, during the Glacial epoch.

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The ideas of men who speculate upon the dismemberment of the empire seem generally turned toward three confederacies -- one consisting of the four Northern, another of the four Middle, and a third of the five Southern States.

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[109] the Swallows," the northern birds--lark and thrush--have long been calling to them:--

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But north and south are fixed; and it hath seldom or never been seen that the far southern people have invaded the northern, but contrariwise.

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The North is generally the region of strength, and many local circumstances render it probable that the most Northern of the proposed confederacies would, at a period not very distant, be unquestionably more formidable than any of the others.

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The Northern weather so far shows no sign of improvement.

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It was comparatively spring, shut up as we were behind this iceberg, whose lengthened mass was dimly seen on our northern horizon.

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MALDONADO is situated on the northern bank of the Plata, and not very far from the mouth of the estuary.

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What a fine frosty night; how Orion glitters; what northern lights!

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Sir James is one of the commissioners for the Northern Lights.

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The portion of the moon which the projectile was nearing was the northern hemisphere, that which the selenographic maps place below; for these maps are generally drawn after the outline given by the glasses, and we know that they reverse the objects.

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There are multitudes of slaves temporarily owned, and sold again, by merchants in northern cities; and shall the whole guilt or obloquy of slavery fall only on the South?

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