Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “northern” come from?

Northern derives from Middle English northerne, from Old English norþerne, from Proto-Germanic nurþrōnijaz, built on Proto-Germanic -ōnijaz and Proto-Indo-European h₁nŕ̥t(e)ros, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₁ner- and h₁en.

northern (English): Of, facing, situated in, or related to the...

Definitions

  1. Of, facing, situated in, or related to the...

Ancestry of “northern”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishnorthernenorthern
2Old Englishnorþernenorthern
3Proto-Germanicnurþrōnijaznorthern
4Proto-Germanicnurþraznorth, northern
5Proto-Indo-European*nér—

Words derived from “northern”

  • northerly
  • northernmost
  • northerner
  • northernly
  • northernness
  • Northernness
  • northernization
  • northerliness
  • nonnorthern
  • northernism
  • northernize
  • northernest
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *nér →