Where does “North” come from?

North (English) comes from French Nord, from Middle French nord, from Old French nort, from Old English norþ, from Proto-Germanic nurþrą, from Proto-Germanic nurþraz, from Proto-Indo-European *nér — below the surface, below.

North (English): Any of various particular regions named for the cardinal direction in which they lie

Definitions

  1. Any of various particular regions named for the cardinal direction in which they lie

Ancestry of “North”, step by step

North traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via French Nord

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchNordnorth
2Middle Frenchnordnorth
3Old Frenchnortnorth
4Old Englishnorþnorth
5Proto-Germanicnurþrąnorth, northern; north, northward
6Proto-Germanicnurþraznorth, northern
7Proto-Indo-European*nérbelow the surface, below

via Middle English north

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishnorthnorth, northernness; A location to the north; the...

Words derived from “North

Every word from Proto-Indo-European *nér