septentrion
septentrion noun: the north or northern regions.
Noun
septentrion (plural septentrions)
- The north or northern regions.
- Thou art as opposite to every good / As the Antipodes are unto us, / Or as the south to the septentrion.c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
Adjective
septentrion (comparative more septentrion, superlative most septentrion)
- Of or relating to the north; northern.
- From cold septentrion blaſts1671, John Milton, “The First Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 80, line 31
Forms of septentrion
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | septentrions |
| alternative form | septentriones |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more septentrion |
| superlative | most septentrion |
Origin of septentrion
From Middle English septentrion, septentrione, septemtryones, septemtrioun, from Latin septentriō, septentriōnem (“the northern regions, the north”) directly and through Old French septentrïon, septemtrion, from septentriōnēs (“the seven stars near the north pole”) (called Charles's Wain, or the Great Bear, also those called the Little Bear; properly, the “seven plow oxen”); from septem (“seven”) + triō, originally a plow ox (compare triōnēs, from its plural). Cognate with French septentrion, Middle English septemtrioun.
Questions about septentrion
- What does septentrion mean?
- Septentrion means the north or northern regions.
- What part of speech is septentrion?
- Septentrion can be a noun or an adjective.
- What is the plural of septentrion?
- The plural of septentrion is septentrions.
Words near septentrion in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: septentrion (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “septentrion.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/septentrion. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.