# north

> English word · Noun · IPA /nɔːθ/ · frequency rank #458

## Definitions
1. The direction towards the pole to the left-hand side of someone facing east, specifically 0°, or (on another celestial object) the direction towards the pole lying on the northern side of the invariable plane.
2. The up or positive direction.
3. The positive or north pole of a magnet, which seeks the magnetic pole near Earth's geographic North Pole (which, for its magnetic properties, is a south pole).
4. Alternative letter-case form of North (“a northern region; the inhabitants thereof”).
5. In a church: the direction to the left-hand side of a person facing the altar.

## Etymology
From Middle English north, from Old English norþ, from Proto-West Germanic *norþr, from Proto-Germanic *nurþrą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nér (“below (the surface)”). The meaning developed either from "region where the sun is below (the earth)" or from "left side of someone who turns to the east when praying".
Cognates
Cognate with various Germanic counterparts such as Yola noardth, nordh (“north”), North Frisian noor, nord, nuurd, Nuurđ (“north”), Saterland Frisian Noude, Nudde (“north”), West Frisian noard (“north”), Dutch noord (“north”), German Nord (“north”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk nord (“north”), Faroese, Icelandic norður (“north”), Swedish nord, norr (“north”); also with Ancient Greek νέρτερος (nérteros), ἐνέρτερος (enérteros, “below”), Russian нора (nora, “hole”), Lithuanian nėrõvė (“mermaid, nymph”), Oscan 𐌍𐌄𐌓𐌕𐌓𐌀𐌊 (nertrak, “left”), Umbrian nertru (“left”), Sanskrit नरक (naraka, “hell”), Tocharian B ñor (“below”).

## Easily confused with
- **not** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/north-vs-not)
- **nth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/north-vs-nth)
- **note** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/north-vs-note)
- **notch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/north-vs-notch)
- **Norton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/north-vs-norton)
- **nor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nor-vs-north)
- **Noh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/noh-vs-north)
- **Noah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/noah-vs-north)
- **norm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/norm-vs-north)
- **Nora** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nora-vs-north)
- **Nord** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nord-vs-north)
- **Nath** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nath-vs-north)
- **nori** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nori-vs-north)
- **ninth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ninth-vs-north)
- **Norma** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/norma-vs-north)
- **Norse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/norse-vs-north)
- **neath** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/neath-vs-north)
- **NORAD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/norad-vs-north)

## Common misspellings (8)
`nnorth`, `norht`, `norrth`, `northh`, `nortth`, `notrh`, `nroth`, `onrth`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/north