# northern

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈnɔːðən/ · frequency rank #1,489

## Definitions
1. Of, facing, situated in, or related to the north; northerly.
2. Blowing from the north; northerly.
3. Characteristic of the North of England (usually capitalised)

## Etymology
From Middle English northerne, from Old English norþerne, from Proto-West Germanic *norþrōnī, from Proto-Germanic *nurþrōnijaz. Cognate with Old High German nordrōni and Old Norse norrœnn.
Morphologically north + -ern.

## Easily confused with
- **nother** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/northern-vs-nother)
- **northerly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/northerly-vs-northern)

## Common misspellings (13)
`nnorthern`, `norhtern`, `norrthern`, `nortehrn`, `northenr`, `northernn`, `northerrn`, `northhern`, `northren`, `nortthern`, `notrhern`, `nrothern`, `onrthern`

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