northern

The word “northern” means situated in, facing, or coming from the north. In plain terms, of, from, or related to the north.

“Northern” is pronounced NAW-thuhn (/ˈnɔɹ.ðɚn/ in IPA).

Here is “northern” used in a sentence: “They spent the summer touring northern Italy.”

Words with a similar meaning to “northern” include boreal and septentrional.

The opposite of “northern” — its antonyms — are austral, meridional and southern.

Depending on how it is used, “northern” can be an adjective and a noun.

The word “northern” comes from Old English. From Old English "norþerne," ultimately built from "north" plus a Germanic ending meaning "of that direction.".

“Northern” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

'Northern' describes something located in or belonging to the north, such as northern Europe. 'Northerly' describes direction or movement toward the north, or — especially with wind — coming from the north. So a northerly wind blows from the north, while a northern town simply sits in the north.

Usually it is lowercase, as in 'the northern coast.' It takes a capital N only when part of a proper name, such as Northern Ireland, the Northern Hemisphere, or the Northern Lights. If you are describing a general direction or region, keep it lowercase.

The opposite is 'southern,' describing what lies in or comes from the south. The four directional adjectives — northern, southern, eastern, and western — each point to their part of the compass. So the northern edge of a country faces the opposite way from its southern edge.