northern
/ˈnɔɹ.ðɚn/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.85 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of, facing, situated in, or related to the north; northerly.
noun
An inhabitant of the northern regions; a northerner.
noun
The northern pike.
noun
A film or other dramatic work set primarily in the late 19th or early 20th century in the north of North America, primarily in western Canada but also in Alaska, often with a Mountie as the protagonist.
adj
Characteristic of the northern part of the United States (the North) (usually capitalised).
American usage
Example Sentences
- "Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages."
- "Sadhana and Sanjeev Prasad, who live in Haridwar, a city in northern Uttarakhand state, filed a petition this month seeking 50 million Indian rupees (about $643,000) in damages from their son, 35, and his wife, 31."
- "Les Dawson was a famous northern comedian."
- "As is the case with northerns, the female muskie, trailed by her attendant males, may broadcast eggs over several hundred yards."
- "She's a Northern girl, so she had to ask what hush puppies and mudbugs are. We were happy to serve her the answer on a platter!"
- "We don't move any freight on the Northern anymore."
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈnɔɹ.ðɚn/
- British English: /ˈnɔː.ðən/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more northern (comparative)
most northern (superlative)
northernmost (superlative)
northerns (plural)