Where does “northward” come from?
Northward comes from English north, from Middle English north, from Old English norþ, from Proto-Indo-European wert-, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European wer-.
northward (English): The direction or area lying to the north of a...
Definitions
- The direction or area lying to the north of a...
Ancestry of “northward”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | North | Any of various particular regions named for the cardinal direction in which they lie |
| 2 | French | Nord | north |
| 3 | Middle French | nord | north |
| 4 | Old French | nort | north |
| 5 | Old English | norþ | north |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | nurþrą | north, northern; north, northward |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | nurþraz | north, northern |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | *nér | below the surface, below |