north

Noun

north (countable and uncountable, plural norths)

1. 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.
   • Minnesota is in the north of the USA.
2. The up or positive direction.
   • Stock prices are heading back towards the north.
3. The positive or north pole of a magnet, which seeks the magnetic pole near Earth's geographic North Pole (which, for its magnetic properties, is a south pole).
4. In a church: the direction to the left-hand side of a person facing the altar.
   • If candidates stand on the liturgical south facing the presider and liturgical assistants on the liturgical north, it will present better visual lines for the congregation than if they stand facing east and west with their backs toward the congregation.1998, Leonel L. Mitchell, Pastoral and Occasional Liturgies: A Ceremonial Guide, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 49
   • Many early Christian basilicas were designed with twin ambos for the proclamation of the epistle (on the liturgical south side) and the Gospel (on the north). The separation of the ambos indicated the distinction that should be accorded the Gospel, which was proclaimed from the north as if...2011, Paul Turner, At the Supper of the Lamb: A Pastoral and Theological Commentary on the Mass, LiturgyTrainingPublications, →ISBN, page 27

Adjective

north (not comparable)

1. Of or pertaining to the north; northern.
   • He lived in north Germany.
   • She entered through the north gate.
2. Toward the north; northward.
   • Napoleon ordered Villeneuve north to France.
   • The most dangerous ones are those that develop during October and November and that follow a north path affecting the western part of the island.1987, Ana María Brull Vázquez, Rosa E. Casas, Cuba, page 23
3. Of wind, from the north.
   • The north wind was cold.
4. Pertaining to the part of a corridor used by northbound traffic.
   • north highway 1
   • Traffic was doing the speed limit on North I-45 one minute and had come to a stand-still the next.2001, Joseph R Miller, Pipe Tobacco and Wool
5. Designating, or situated in, the liturgical north (in a church, the direction to the left-hand side of a person facing the altar).
   • […] the high church had liked its clergy to preside at the Eucharist in an ad orientem position; the low church advocated what was called the north end position; but the Liturgical Movement asked the priest to take a basilical position, facing liturgical west, and now both Anglican factions could...2011, Michael Attridge, Catherine E. Clifford, Gilles Routhier, Vatican II: Expériences canadiennes – Canadian experiences, University of Ottawa Press, →ISBN, page 145
   • Throughout the book I refer directionally to the altar and chancel of St. Andrew's as situated at ecclesiastical east (to avoid overcomplicating matters), not geographical or magnetic southeast. Thus, […] The north side faces the river (beyond the subdivision behind the church), and the south side...2014, Paul Porwoll, Against All Odds: History of Saint Andrew's Parish Church, Charleston, 1706-2013, WestBow Press, →ISBN, page 365
6. (colloquial) More or greater than.
   • The wedding ended up costing north of $50,000.
   • The price you're offering had better be north of the highest price this company has ever traded for.1993, Barbarians at the Gate, spoken by Charlie Hugel (Tom Aldredge)

Adverb

north (comparative further north or farther north, superlative furthest north or farthest north)

1. Toward the north; northward; northerly.
   • Switzerland is north of Italy.
   • We headed north.

Verb

north (third-person singular simple present norths, present participle northing, simple past and past participle northed)

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To turn or move toward the north.
   • When at B you had northed 3.71[…]1769, Henry Wilson, William Hume, Surveying improved, page 239

Proper noun (1) capitalized: North

IPA/nɔː(ɹ)θ/

the North

1. (US) The northern states of the United States.
2. (US) The Union during the American Civil War.
   • The North lost most battles early in the war.
3. (UK) The North of England, a cultural region.
4. (Ireland) Northern Ireland.
5. North Korea.
6. The northern part of any of various other countries or regions.
   • In 1903, I had adventured, for the first time, northwards, and it really was the North, as my objective was the Great North of Scotland Railway.1957 July, M. D. Greville, “A Diamond Jubilee of Railway Memories”, in Railway Magazine, page 459
7. A group of countries mainly lying north of the equator, including most of the West and the First World and much of the Second World.
   • In economic terms, the North controls four-fifths of the income earned anywhere in the world.

   Synonyms:

   Global North

Proper noun (2) capitalized: North

IPA/nɔː(ɹ)θ/

North (countable and uncountable, plural Norths)

1. A surname.
2. A civil parish in Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Canada, named for its location.
3. A town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States, named after John North.
4. A number of townships in the United States, including in Indiana (2), Minnesota, Missouri and Ohio, listed under North Township; most are named named for their location.