Where does “north west” come from?

north west (English) comes from English North, 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 west (English): consisting of the states of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara

Definitions

  1. consisting of the states of Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara

Ancestry of “north west”, step by step

north west traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English North

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishNorthAny of various particular regions named for the cardinal direction in which they lie
2FrenchNordnorth
3Middle Frenchnordnorth
4Old Frenchnortnorth
5Old Englishnorþnorth
6Proto-Germanicnurþrąnorth, northern; north, northward
7Proto-Germanicnurþraznorth, northern
8Proto-Indo-European*nérbelow the surface, below

via English West

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishWestAny of various particular regions named for the cardinal direction in which they lie
2Middle Englishwestwest; A location to the south; the south; The...
3Old Englishwestwest
4Proto-West Germanic*westrwestern, westernly
5Proto-Germanicwestrąwest; west, westward
6Proto-Germanicwestrazwest, western
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwek(ʷ)sperosevening
8Proto-Indo-Europeanwe-
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *nér